Dead Men Tell No Tales
by Lunavere
Summary: Mike is pulling a typical all-nighter when his world is flipped upside-down.  Now, he doesn't know if he's being hunted.  Luckily, he has Harvey by his side... even if Harvey was ordered to be there in the first place.  Eventual Slash.
1. Chapter 1

Mike groaned for the umpteenth time that night. Once again, he was stuck in the offices working overtime while everyone else was at home. They were all probably sleeping… or mocking him if they knew he was still there. The last people to leave were some other associates, all of whom made sure to make some sort of jab at him. Honestly, he didn't understand why Harvey thought that he could just repeatedly pull all-nighters. He was human, too! He also needed to eat and sleep, just like every other person. Seriously, there had to be a law against such treatment that Harvey was just keeping from Mike. He would have to look it up later.

Sighing, Mike considered calling for delivery as he started feeling hungry again. Unfortunately, he had last eaten at six o'clock, and it was almost midnight. Some businesses specialized in delivering late at night, so time didn't really matter. He would find someone to deliver. If not, Taco Bell was always opened to 2AM or later. He could just swing by for fourth meal really fast. As he kept thinking about food, Mike became even hungrier. Mike gave in to his stomach and reached for the phone. He debated between calling in Chinese or pizza, but he decided that Chinese would be the winner tonight. Just as he lifted up the receiver, he heard a crash.

Mike hesitated for a moment, unsure if his lack of sleep was messing with his mind. When he heard another noise, though, he jumped to his feet. Although he had always criticized characters in horror films for going towards the creepy noise, Mike couldn't deny his curiosity. Heart in his throat, he slowly moved forward, trying to remain as quiet as possible. His adrenaline was pumping as the "fight or flight" state-of-mind took over. When he saw Harvey's office light on, though, he relaxed and headed towards the office. He was planning on giving Harvey hell somehow. In the end, it would make him feel better.

Just as he got in front of Donna's desk, Mike looked in to find two figures in Harvey's office. Both figures were dressed in complete black and had matching masks on. One was flipping as quickly as he could through files, discarding them on the floor once he was done. Meanwhile, the other appeared to be trying to log into Harvey's laptop. Mike froze, staring in at them. Suddenly, both males looked over to see him. A moment of complete stillness passed before one man yelled at the other one. Because the door was closed, though, Mike couldn't hear what they were saying. When one of them headed towards him, though, he knew he needed to get the hell out of Pearson Hardman.

As soon as everything registered in his mind, Mike took off down the hall. Footsteps pounded right behind him as he zigzagged through the cubicles. Despite being in a panicked state of mind, Mike knew that he wouldn't be able to grab his bag. A feeling of hopelessness washed over him as he realized that he was going to have to outrun his pursuer. Adrenaline pumping, Mike hit the stairs faster than when he had been running from the police. His and his pursuer's footsteps echoed back in the concrete staircase. Although Mike wanted to look back to see how far ahead he was, he was too scared to. If he wasn't that far ahead then looking back would just be a waste of his time. Not only that, but looking back might cause him to fall down the stairs.

After what felt like forever, Mike finally made it to the first floor. The door opened with a _bam_, and Mike bolted for the front doors. A couple seconds later, he heard the door bang open again. Now he finally had a guess on how far his pursuer was behind him. He wasn't too happy with the distance since the adrenaline rush was starting to fade. Sprinting out of the building, Mike took a hard left. For the first time in a while, Mike was grateful that he rode his bike every day to work. It meant that he knew the streets like the back of his hand.

In a panic, though, Mike made a stupid decision. He didn't know where his pursuer was. The blood pounding in his ears as well as his ragged, uneven breathing kept him from hearing the other male's footsteps. And even if he didn't have the pounding blood and heavy breathing, he still would have to ignore all the other background noise that happened at night in such a large city. But when a hand barely brushed against Mike's jacket, he knew that his pursuer was getting too close. Instinctively and against any logical thinking, Mike bolted across the busy street right in front of the building. Three cars slammed on their horns while another one barely missed hitting him. Loudly, the squealing of tires screeched as several cars avoided slamming into each other. Angry shouts sounded out in the air as several obscenities slurred together.

However, this gave Mike a chance. As soon as he crossed the street, he quickly glanced behind him. His pursuer hadn't been as reckless to just dive in after him. As such, Mike had gained valuable seconds. As soon as he could, he turned down an alleyway before turning again and crossing the street. He then crossed three more blocks before nearly collapsing on the spot. Unfortunately, his adrenaline rush ended, which left Mike feeling absolutely exhausted. He was shaking and unable to breath properly, gasping in large amounts as his body tried to make up for the strenuous work it had just gone through. Mike cautiously examined the area, trying to discern any figure. When he saw nothing out of the ordinary, though, he started to relax. He had shaken his pursuer.

Honestly? Mike wanted nothing more than to collapse on the ground until the jitters went away, but he knew better. Although one man had chased after him, the other had stayed and was probably still going through Harvey's stuff. Mike staggered forward and looked at the street sign. Luckily, he had turned the correct way when he had left the building and had started heading for Harvey's condo. He quickly signaled for a taxi and jumped in. As soon as they were at the complex, Mike threw the necessary money into the front seat and leapt out of the car.

Rather impatiently, he waited for the elevator. Even though he knew it would be faster than just running up the stairs, he kept pacing back and forth. Leaping into the elevator as soon as the doors opened, Mike slammed his hand on the proper floor button three times before pressing the "Close Doors" button several times as well. A long minute passed before he was on the proper floor. Still shaking from the adrenaline and fear, Mike began pounding on Harvey's door.

"Harvey, wake up! It's Mike!" he yelled, pounding on the door even harder.

The door was suddenly ripped open, and an extremely angry Harvey glared at him. For a moment, Mike felt his face warm up. Harvey was disheveled… but in a different way than sleeping. Not only that, but he was almost naked. The last time Mike had arrived at Harvey's place, Harvey had been sleeping in a T-shirt. Glancing past, Mike saw a silhouette on the bed.

"Mike, this better be extremely important," Harvey growled.

After taking a second to register everything, Mike zoned back in. "It is!" he exclaimed. "Someone's broken into Pearson Hardman, and they were going through _your_ files, Harvey."

"What?" Harvey yelled, clearly pissed and shocked at the same time. "Did you call the police?"

Shaking his head, Mike answered, "No. I didn't have the time to."

"You idiot!" Harvey growled, stalking back into his room. He grabbed his cellphone and started dialing. Mike then heard, "I would like to report a break-in at Pearson Hardman Law Firm."

As Harvey said that, the woman slid out of the bedroom. She was barely wearing anything, and Mike realized he had probably just cock-blocked Harvey hardcore. Still, some things came first. Mike was pretty sure that Harvey would have been more pissed if Mike had said nothing and just allowed the older male to get back to business. Walking into the room, she asked, "Is everything okay?"

"No, Nicole, everything's not okay," Harvey answered darkly. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave. There's been an emergency."

She nodded. "I understand," she whispered, quickly getting changed. Without saying another word, she grabbed her things and left. Mike reveled in this woman's beauty as she went. Long, red hair flowed silkily down to her shoulders while bright blue eyes captured his own. Nice curves complimented her body, and her dress was a sin in and of itself. And all too quickly, she was gone.

"Well, are you going to come in or just stand there like an idiot?" Harvey snapped as he hung up the phone.

Jumping, Mike stumbled into the room and closed the door behind him. "Look, Harvey, I'm really sorry about-" he started to say.

"Don't apologize, kid," Harvey replied. "The police are going to send an officer here to interview you. Before he gets here, though, I need to know what happened myself."

Mike realized at that point that his shaking had almost stopped. Nodding, he sat down on the couch and started his narrative. He explained in detail everything that happened – from the crash to what he saw to the pursuit after. Once he was done talking, Harvey just stared at him for a while. Something about Harvey's appearance had softened, although Mike couldn't exactly name what.

Softly, Harvey asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly?" Mike inquired rhetorically. "I'm feeling pretty shitty. I mean, I might have been killed tonight if I hadn't been so quick on my feet. These guys weren't amateurs, Harvey. To even get into Pearson Hardman without triggering the alarms at night is one hell of a feat. But they managed to get into your office, and they were clearly searching for something specific."

Harvey frowned as he heard this. "That's what concerns me most of all. A lot of my client's information might be compromised if they managed to hack my laptop. Not only that, but any current cases might be compromised as well," he stated. "But who would have the motivation to try to steal such information."

"Maybe a competitor?" Mike suggested. "Or a crossed previous client looking for something to blackmail you with?"

Running a hand through his messed up hair, Harvey shook his head. "We'll learn more tomorrow once we can see the surveillance tapes. I know you said they were wearing masks, but could you tell what these guys looked like at all?"

"No," Mike murmured. "I couldn't even tell you what eye color they had. Everything is such a blur now. All I could do was run and pray that they wouldn't catch me. I've never been so terrified in my entire life."

Harvey forced a smile to his face. "Even after everything Louis has ever done to you? I find that hard to believe," he half-heartedly jested.

Mike offered him the shadow of a smile. "Maybe this is Louis's version of hazing, and I failed the initiation test because I ran away like a little girl," he responded, his voice only half-joking.

"Mike, listen to me," Harvey said, his tone suddenly becoming serious. "You did the right thing by running. Dying wouldn't have helped either you or me, okay? There was nothing you could do about the situation. I'd much rather have an associate who might get teased a bit about running away than a dead one. Do you understand me?"

Meekly, Mike nodded. "I know it's no my fault, but I still can't help but wonder if there was something else I could have done. If only I had brought my phone with me! I could have called the cops sooner instead of wasting time trying to get here first," he said in exasperation.

"Where _is_ that atrocious bag you carry around all the time?" Harvey inquired.

Mike had completely forgotten to tell Harvey about forgetting his bag. "In the rush of things, I was unable to grab it before running out the door. If I'm lucky, it's still in Pearson Hardman. If I'm not, I've got some bank accounts to freeze and credit cards to cancel."

There was a long pause after that statement. By no means was it awkward, but it was present. Just as Mike was becoming uncomfortable, Harvey quietly said, "Everything's going to be just fine, kid. I'll make sure of it."

Before either could comment, though, the doorbell rang. Harvey rose from his seat and opened the door. Outside, an officer stood and asked, "My name is Officer Jackson. Are you Mr. Ross, sir?"

"No," Harvey answered, not seizing the moment to make a joke. "My name is Harvey Specter. He is Mike Ross." With that, Harvey carelessly motioned over to Mike.

"Mr. Ross, I'm going to have to ask you to come down the precinct in order to get a formal statement," the officer stated.

Mike let out another sigh. If he thought this night was going to be long before, he had an entirely different thing coming. He rose from the couch and headed towards the door, secretly wondering if he was actually going to get to sleep tonight. Abruptly, Harvey said, "I ask you to give me a few minutes to change so I may accompany you to the precinct." Mike was stunned by this sudden declaration.

"Sir, your presence is not needed unless you witnessed the incident as well," Officer Jackson informed Harvey.

Smiling, Harvey replied, "I'm Mr. Ross's lawyer, and I would like to be present."

"Do you have something to hide, Mr. Ross?" the officer suddenly inquired, his voice becoming suspicious.

Mike went to answer only for Harvey to cut him off. "I assure you that my client has nothing to hide. However, he's been through a lot tonight, and I don't want for him to be pushed over the edge. He needs his rest as it is. If you drill him until the early morning hours about every detail, he'll actually be more prone to slipping up on something important. That, officer, is why I would like to be present."

Officer Jackson appeared surprised by this statement. "I understand your concern, sir. We'll wait for you to get changed," he finally said, caving in.

As Harvey passed him, Mike hissed, "Do you even know anything about criminal charges?"

"I went to Harvard, Mike. What do you think?" Harvey retorted quietly, not even pausing for a second as he passed.

In all honesty, Mike wasn't sure if he should be satisfied with that statement… or completely horrified. Either way, he was bound to find out the answer at the precinct.


	2. Chapter 2

Harvey and Mike had been up for the rest of the night at the precinct. Because Mike was their only lead thus far, the police kept drilling him for any extra details. They, on the other hand, refused to tell Mike if they found his bag at Pearson Hardman or not. Finally, though, Mike was free to go. The police thanked them for their time, and they stepped out of the precinct. Surprisingly, Ray was already waiting with the car. How Harvey was able to call Ray was completely beyond Mike's understanding. But there he was, waiting with Harvey's coffee and newspaper as always.

"Morning," Ray said, handing Harvey the newspaper and coffee. He glanced quickly at Mike, who probably looked like complete shit despite the fact that Harvey looked perfect. "It appears you had an eventful night."

Harvey looked at him and responded, "You have no idea."

"Would you like to return home then?" Ray inquired, looking legitimately concerned.

Shaking his head, Harvey replied, "We need to get to Pearson Hardman as soon as possible."

Ray nodded and opened the door. "Then I'll get you there as quickly as I can," he stated, heading around the car. But this time, he went around the back and pulled Mike's door open on the way around. Mike offered a weak but sincere smile, and Ray just barely nodded in acknowledgement.

As Mike slid into the car, Harvey pulled out his cell and hit a speed dial. Mike sat there as he heard Harvey speak, "Jessica? Harvey. Did the police contact you? Mike just spoke with them. I was thinking about the security tapes. Did you-? You did? We'll be right there. Goodbye."

"What did she say?" Mike asked, fidgeting a bit.

Harvey glanced over at him. "You'll find out when we get to the firm," he replied.

Mike didn't appreciate the answer, but he didn't pursue the matter. Honestly, his mind was still whirling with the events in the last twelve hours. Mike felt shocked as he realized that everything had happened less than twelve hours ago. It felt as if it had happened years ago. Sighing, Mike rubbed his face and held his hand over his eyes. He just wanted to wake up. Why couldn't this just be one long, horrible nightmare? At least then he could wake up and go to work and just forget everything.

"Mike!" Harvey called out, shaking the younger male a bit.

Jerking back to the present, Mike jerked away and let out a startled yell. "Jesus, Harvey!" he exclaimed, shaking a bit from the small shock of adrenaline. "Could you lay off with the manhandling? I've had one hell of a night, and I'm barely able to keep myself sane right now."

"C'mon, kid. You're going to see how the big dogs handle it when they're backed into a corner," Harvey answered, ignoring Mike's comments completely.

Mike clambered out of the vehicle and followed Harvey's quick pace into the building. Both remained completely quiet on the way up. Shifting back and forth, Mike waited nervously. He wanted to check if his bag was there more than anything else. Unfortunately, Harvey headed the other way when the elevator doors swung open. As they headed to Jessica Pearson's, everyone looked over at the pair. Harvey ignored them, but Mike couldn't help but notice the whispers.

As soon as they stepped into Jessica Pearson's office, Mike felt the entire atmosphere change. It was more tense and serious. Instantly, Mike knew that there wasn't going to be much joking. As the door opened, Jessica looked up from her computer. Her eyes were fierce, and Mike stopped in his tracks as his eyes were captured by hers. Almost immediately, her expression softened.

"You look like you've been through a lot, Mr. Ross," she noted. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

Mike laughed. "No, ma'am," he answered. "I apologize for coming to work looking so horrible, but there's nothing I could do about it. Harvey said we needed to get to the firm as soon as possible."

Jessica nodded. "He was correct in that statement. I have something that you both need to see," she replied, turning her computer monitor around.

Mike was confused for a moment as he saw a black-and-white film start playing. In a matter of seconds, though, he realized that it was the security footage from the night before. He felt sick as he watched the two figures head into the building around 6 PM, appearing as if they were there to clean. Since most of the cleaning crews came about that time, Mike wasn't surprised that they slipped easily past. They had hats on, though, and kept their faces hidden from the cameras. Both got onto the elevator, got off on the Pearson Hardman floor, and started cleaning the floor. Eventually, they made it to a section of the building where everyone had left. They slipped into one of the offices and sat down.

"They remain there until almost midnight, so I'm going to skip ahead in time," Jessica explained.

Instantly, Mike felt nauseous as he watched the men quickly change clothes and walk towards Harvey's office. They started going through it when one of the guys knocked a baseball off the holder. The camera suddenly switched to show Mike looking over with the telephone almost to his ear. Then the camera flipped back to show the two figures argue for a moment. Suddenly, one figure grabbed a ball and chucked it at the wall. Beginning to shake, Mike felt bile rise in his throat. He watched himself set the phone down and head towards Harvey's room. Shuddering, Mike looked away.

"You need to watch this, Mike," Jessica murmured. "I think it will help you accept what has happened to you."

Mike grimaced and slowly turned back. By then, the figures had realized he was there. A moment later, Mike was sprinting down the hall and barging into the stairwell. He hit the stairs at lightning fast speed, actually descending them by twos. Honestly, he didn't even remember skipping steps. A few moments later, Mike was sprinting out the front doors with the figure right on his heels. Mike felt clammy as the film turned off. Swallowing, he tried to fight down the feeling of being sick.

"The man who pursued you never reentered the building. The other figure took the next ten minutes to go through some more files and copy them. Luckily for us, we can reprint those copies and find out which files they were. They left with nothing else, which includes Mr. Ross's bag," Jessica informed the two of them. "But I do have some questions to ask before I give my final orders."

"Alright," Harvey stated, folding his arms.

Jessica turned to Mike and inquired, "What were you doing in the building so late, Mr. Ross?"

Taken aback by the question, Mike fumbled for an answer. "Um," he started to say, unsure of how much he should tell her. He didn't want to get Harvey in trouble after all. "I was working on a case," he finally said, keeping his answer somewhat vague.

"How often do you stay that late in the offices?" Jessica pushed. Mike glanced over at Harvey, silently asking for help. "Mr. Ross, I am talking to you. You need to answer me truthfully. If you don't, I will be able to go through our security videos to see for myself."

Harvey was the one who answered, though. "This was his third night in a row staying in the building so late," he stated in a monotone voice.

Jessica's eyes flashed in anger. "Is that so?" she inquired. "Tell me, Harvey, how often did I have _you_ pulling all-nighters at the firm?"

"Jessica, this is different," Harvey told her. "Mike is like a machine. He can get the work done in less than half the time three other associates would take! He is the reason why we're gaining so much money in such little time. With Mike, I can take on more cases than before. Besides, it was your idea for me to hire an associate. I told you back then that I worked better alone."

Shaking her head, Jessica replied, "Harvey, Mr. Ross might be _like_ a machine, but that does not make him one. He needs to eat and sleep just like every other human being. From now on, you're limited to one all-nighter per week, do you understand? And if I find out that you're somehow skirting around this rule, I will take Mr. Ross under my wings and leave you with the – what did you call them again? Oh, yeah. The 'Harvard summer associate douche,' which is Kyle Devon in this case."

Mike was astounded by Jessica's harsh terms, and he was somewhat miffed that she wasn't even asking him how he felt about everything. Even so, it was somewhat nice to see someone put Harvey in his place. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Mike turned to see Louis walking into the room. "You called for me?" Louis inquired, sounding somewhat snobby about the entire thing.

Jessica smiled. "Perfect timing," she stated.

"What is Louis doing here?" Harvey queried, clear disdain in his voice.

Looking over at Harvey, Jessica answered, "Until we get this situation cleared up, Louis is going to be taking over all of your current cases."

Louis's eyes began to shine with pride as he heard this. On the other hand, Harvey took the news hard. "What? Louis can't handle half of my current cases. Besides, doesn't he have something to do already? Woo millionaires or – I don't know – spin stress balls around?"

"Harvey," Jessica said, "I am doing this for our clients. We don't know what these people were after yet, and they managed to copy several files before leaving. Until we can figure that out, it's better if we give Louis all of your current cases. That way if the intruders found something that might help them, they won't really know what to expect anymore." She leaned forward, placing her hands on her desk. "This is my final word, Harvey. I won't have you disobeying it."

Still clearly angry, Harvey lashed out, "Then what am I supposed to do? Sit on my thumbs and wait for something to happen?"

"Well, if it bothers you that badly, I am sure I can find some pro bono work for you to do," Jessica retorted sharply. Harvey scowled as he heard this. However, Jessica ignored the look and continued, "By the way, you'll be taking care of Mr. Ross until everything is over with."

Mike looked over at Harvey only to see how appalled the older lawyer appeared to the very idea. "You want me to _babysit_ the pup?" he asked incredulously.

"First of all, Mr. Ross is the only reason you'll be working here at all for the next couple of weeks. If he hadn't stopped that burglary last night, the intruders might have found what they were looking for. We would have to put you on a permanent freeze until the police resolved the issue," Jessica pointed out. "Second of all, Mr. Ross is _your_ associate, Harvey. You hired him. So when he gets into a tough spot or two, it is _your_ responsibility to get him out of it."

Harvey appeared completely mind-blown. "You never bailed me out of anything when I was your associate!" he countered.

"I was lucky enough that I never felt like you needed to be bailed out," Jessica retorted. "And third of all, Mr. Ross needs a secure place to stay until everything blows over. We're not sure if the two intruders recognize him or if they'll have the motivation to go after him somehow. So he's going to be staying at your nice, roomy condo for a while."

Harvey's glare only worsened as he heard this. "You can't do this, Jessica. I have a life, and I'm sure Mike somehow manages to have one as well. Just put him in some nice hotel for a while! It's practically the same damn thing," he declared.

Mike was torn between being hurt by Harvey's reaction to being relieved that he might not have to live with his boss. Jessica, however, placed those emotions on the backburner as she replied, "This is my decision, and you're just going to have to live with it if you want to continue working here at Pearson Hardman. Have I made myself clear?"

Honestly, Harvey looked like he was about to swallow his own tongue as he managed to say, "Crystal."

"Good. Mr. Ross will come to work with you in the mornings, and he will leave with you in the evenings," she continued, staring at him. Then she turned to Louis. "By the way, I do not want a single associate to harass Mr. Ross about what happened last night. If you hear or see anything, I want you to take care of the situation and report to me right away. Some of those associates need the fear of God instilled in them."

"I understand completely," Louis responded, taking the orders more seriously than Mike would have thought.

"Good. Harvey, give Louis a briefing over your current cases," Jessica ordered, sitting back down.

Harvey rolled his eyes as he turned. "Follow me," he said darkly. Mike really wouldn't be surprised if Harvey killed someone by the end of the day.

Without saying anything, Mike turned to automatically follow Harvey out of the room. However, he was stopped as Jessica called out his name. He looked back, somewhat afraid of what she wanted to tell him. "Yes?" he inquired.

"I just wanted to thank you," she told him.

Surprised, Mike asked, "For what?"

"Last night, I know you must have gone through a lot. But the first thing you did was tell your immediate superior what happened. Then you went to the police to give an official statement that will help us once we catch these bastards and throw their asses in jail. You really helped out Pearson Hardman, and I just wanted you to know that that hasn't gone unnoticed. I'm talking to the other senior partners right now about throwing you a celebratory dinner," she explained to him.

Mike was flattered beyond belief. "Thanks so much for the offer, but I really only did what anyone else would have done. I'm no hero, Miss Pearson. It's quite the opposite; I suppose most would call me a coward because I ran," he told her honestly.

"Which is why I told Louis to take care of any associate that bothers you," Jessica said. "You don't see yet what your actions might have spared. Maybe someday you will. I hope so, Mr. Ross. You're dismissed."

Nodding, Mike staggered out of the room. His head was whirling around even more now as he tried to comprehend everything that happened. Had Jessica Pearson seriously just thanked him for running away from the intruders? He couldn't help but think that Harvey probably would have stayed behind. Harvey would have been able to handle the situation. Seriously, the older male constantly talked about beating people up. Mike wouldn't be surprised if Harvey had years of fighting under his belt. He sure as hell had the build for it.

Before he even realized where he was going, Mike stood in front of his cubicle. His bag was in the same spot it had been the night before. Quickly, Mike shifted through the articles to find that everything was still there, including all his cash and cards. Mike let out a sigh of relief. He _needed_ for one thing to go right after everything that had happened.

"How are you doing?" a voice suddenly inquired.

Jumping slightly, Mike looked up to find Rachel standing in front of his desk. She looked legitimately concerned, and he was glad that she of all people had started talking to him today. If it had been one of the associates, Mike wouldn't have been able to stand their fake concern.

"I've been better," he answered honestly.

Rachel cracked a smile and responded, "I can see that much."

"I feel horrible," he told her. "I didn't get any sleep last night, and the police have memories that last as long as a goldfish's."

Laughing sweetly, Rachel leaned in. "You look horrible… and smell even worse," she commented, making a face. "Don't the police know what humanity is? And why don't you have an extra suit at the office like I told you?"

"I do have an extra suit at the office," Mike responded, his tone hinting sarcasm. He pulled at the suit. "This is it."

"Ouch," Rachel said, giggling a bit. "You might want to bring in a closet then. Oh, how about we change one of the empty offices into a bedroom? That way, you can live in the building as you've always done but you won't look so horrible in the morning."

Mike glared at her. "Very funny," he said. "But I don't think I'm going to have to worry about pulling repeat all-nighters for awhile."

"Oh?" Rachel said, appearing extremely curious by this new information. "And why is that?"

Smiling, Mike leaned forward as he whispered, "Jessica Pearson called Harvey off. Turns out that I'm only allowed to pull one all-nighter per week. You should have seen the look on his face when she told him that."

"I might not know Mr. Specter that well, but even I wish I had seen that," she told him, sounding somewhat let down.

Mike was smiling wider than ever, and he was feeling better than he had over the last two days. Somehow, Rachel always managed to cheer him up. "Thanks for checking on me," he stated.

Shrugging, Rachel said, "When I heard what had happened, I had thought about how horrible that must be. I mean, I can't even imagine going through that. I'm just glad that I could make your day a bit better."

Just as Mike was about to say something else, Harvey walked over. "Let's go," he said, barely hesitating as he walked past Mike's cubicle.

Mike and Rachel exchanged looks. "Harvey, where are we going?" he queried, baffled by Harvey's sudden order.

"Where do you think?" Harvey asked. "You didn't get any sleep last night. And if I remember correctly, someone ordered for you to move into my condo for a while. So that means we need to go pick up some of your probably meager belongings. Since I have nothing to do for the rest of the day thanks to this fiasco, I figured we might as well get it out the way. Now are you coming or not?"

Rachel shuffled away, not even saying goodbye. Slumping over a bit, Mike muttered, "Yeah, okay. I'm coming." He grabbed his bag and followed Harvey out of the building.

As they headed to the car, Harvey said, "Give Ray your address."

Mike did as he was told before heading around the car. As he did just that morning, Ray had gone around before him and pulled the door open on the way to the driver's seat. Mike smiled a bit and slid into the car, closing the door behind him. Closing his eyes, he started to drift off. Slowly, the noises and vibrations began to fade. Just as he was about to drift off, though, Mike heard a voice in the distance call his name. He groaned and forced his eyes open.

"We're here," Harvey stated. Sliding out of the car, Mike shook his legs a bit in an attempt to wake them up. He staggered after Harvey, whom was looking at the building as if it was infected. "You actually live in this dump?"

Feeling his pride being punctured, Mike haughtily answered, "Not all of us can live in a glass apartment mansion on top of the city."

"But most can afford a decent apartment," Harvey told him coldly as they entered the building. "And with what I pay you, you should be able to."

Following Harvey inside, Mike glared at him. "I have to pay for my grandmother's increasing nursing home costs. Not only that, but my rent increased. Oh, and I still have to pay to eat. And then there's things like the Rookie Dinner that take out huge chunks of money." After that statement, he slammed his hand on the button to call the elevator.

"In my defense, I did pay off Louis's bill for that dinner," Harvey stated, glancing around the hotel. It was clear to Mike that Harvey wasn't exactly feeling comfortable there. Honestly, Mike would be surprised if Harvey had ever been in such a building before.

"And I never got around to thanking you for that," Mike acknowledged as the elevator doors opened. Both stepped inside without a word, and Mike hit the appropriate floor. "So thanks. I don't know how I would have been able to afford that without your help."

Harvey shrugged. "I figured Louis would try to take his pent-up anger out on you," he said. "But the truth is he was just doing it in order to get back at me. So I did what was needed."

The elevator doors opened, and Mike and Harvey exited. Turning towards his apartment, Mike felt something was wrong the moment he looked at the door. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no," he whispered, his heart sinking a bit.

"What is it, kid?" Harvey responded.

Mike rushed forward, slamming his hand on the door only for it to open. Horrified, he looked in to see his entire apartment trashed. Clothes were strewn everywhere; all the drawers and cabinets were opened with their contents scattered across the floor; several glasses were broken and lay sprinkled across the floor; and books were opened and thrown carelessly all over. Violated didn't even begin to explain how Mike was feeling. Suddenly, a warm hand was placed on his arm.

"Mike," Harvey called out.

Breathing heavy, Mike felt his eyes warm up with tears. "Harvey," he said, his voice barely registering the emotion he was feeling. "How could someone-?"

"I don't know, kid," Harvey told him. "They must be very determined, though, to find where you live and break in."

Mike fought back tears. It normally took a lot to make Mike cry, but stress and lack of sleep were hitting him hard. "They destroyed it," he whimpered, shaking to the core. "They destroyed my home." Going to stagger in, Mike was shocked when Harvey grabbed him. "What are you doing?" he exclaimed, trying to jerk away. "They destroyed my home! I have to put it back together."

Harvey remained quiet for a long moment before finally saying, "I know this is hard for you, but we need to call the police. They have to investigate your apartment and see if this could help with any leads on who these people are."

Forlornly, Mike stared at the state of his apartment. Now he had to subject it to forensic experts traipsing through it before he could try to restore it. Still, he wasn't naïve. He knew he would never feel quite as safe in this apartment. He would always feel those two intruders with him. "There's no where safe for me," he murmured as the epiphany hit him.

"That's not true, kid," Harvey replied. "My condo is secure. You'll be safe there. I swear it."

Mike looked up at Harvey, his mood not changing. "But won't that be the second place they try to look?" he asked, pointing out the obvious.

"It might be, but they'll never get in. That much I promise you," Harvey said, his gaze firm. Strangely, Mike felt reassured as he heard this. Harvey pulled out his phone and looked at it disapprovingly. "Now it's time to deal with those idiots at the police station again."

Groaning, Mike said, "Oh, my God. They'll probably keep us here all night."

Harvey glanced back at the younger male. "Take these," he said, handing Mike a set of keys. "You know which condo I'm in, so go back there and get some sleep. I'll tell the police that I came here to pick up some of your things and found the room like this. Tell Ray that he's done for the day once he drops you off."

Mike blinked in surprise as he realized exactly what Harvey was telling him. Fighting back a smile, Mike ducked his head as he snatched the keys. "Thanks, Harvey," he muttered. Quietly, he shuffled down the hall to the elevator.

"And kid?" Harvey called out, catching Mike's attention just as the elevator doors opened again. Mike looked back. With a light smirk on his lips, Harvey said, "If you tell anyone about this, I will force you to sleep in the hall."

Fighting the temptation to smile, Mike nodded solemnly. "I wouldn't dream of betraying you, my lord," he said, mockingly bowing in the process.

Harvey shook his head as Mike slipped into the elevator and headed for the lobby. In the distance, he could hear a bed calling his name… and he definitely wouldn't make it wait longer than he had to.


	3. Chapter 3

Mike tossed a bit. Although Harvey's couch was more comfortable than his bed at home, Mike couldn't get comfortable. He had been on and off sleeping since he arrived back at the apartment. Despite the fact he kept repeating Harvey's words in his head, Mike couldn't shake the feeling of someone being right behind him. Suddenly, the door opened. Heart pounding, Mike jumped and wound up twisting off the couch. He landed on the floor with a hard _thud _and groaned as pain shot through his back.

"And you were the associate graceful and fast enough to outrun the intruders?" Harvey jested, looking down at Mike in amusement.

Scowling, Mike responded, "First of all, there was only one intruder that chased after me. And second of all, I was on two feet when I tried to run, not my back. Besides, you're coming in at…" Mike glanced at the clock. "…one in the morning. What took you so freaking long? Was there a pretty cop who didn't want to let you go?"

"They had additional questions for me," Harvey told him, closing the door behind him. "They wanted to know about my previous cases, whether I lost them or won them. They asked if anyone might hold a grudge against me. And just like before, they have the attention span of two-year-olds and their memories are far from the elephant department. Why are you still awake?"

Mike sat on the couch again and joked back, "Well, someone came barging through the door like a bull in a china shop just a couple of moments ago."

"Oh, so now it's my fault you're not a heavy sleeper?" Harvey inquired sarcastically.

"Pretty much," Mike told him.

As he was pulling off his tie, Harvey looked back and asked, "Blaming someone else. You might actually be becoming a lawyer." Mike perked up as he heard these words come out of Harvey's mouth. "Prove it," he then demanded.

Faltering, Mike replied, "Well… I mean… You-you're…"

"And that's why you're not actually a lawyer," Harvey stated, cutting him off as he headed into the bathroom. Abruptly, Mike heard Harvey say, "Actually, you're not a lawyer because you've never been to law school."

Mike laughed sarcastically. "Very funny," he called out. "But that just means that not only did I spend less money, but I'm actually more intelligent than most people in the firm. And one of those people might just include you."

"I know you did not just go there," Harvey called out from the bathroom. "Because if you did, I might just have to school you."

Relaxing, Mike felt at ease now that Harvey was home. This emotion surprised Mike, and he instantly began to reason it out. Of course he was glad that Harvey was back, but he would have been glad if anyone else was there with him. It was only natural to feel safer in numbers, right? Besides, if someone broke in now then at least they would have Harvey to deal with as well. Yeah, that was it.

"You still awake, kid?" Harvey asked after a couple minutes of silence.

Pulling back to the present, Mike quickly answered, "Yes."

"Good," Harvey responded, coming out of the bathroom in just his white T-shirt and briefs. He walked across the room but kept speaking. "So here's the schedule. Tomorrow, we're leaving the house at exactly 6:45. If you don't wake up on your own, I'll make sure to wake you up."

This statement shocked Mike. "Thanks, Harvey," he stated, the surprise clear in his voice.

"I'll just be waking you up at 6:40," Harvey continued, wiping the smile off Mike's face. He headed into another room for but a minute before coming back out with a blanket. Because Mike hadn't felt comfortable enough to search Harvey's house, he hadn't gone through it to find a blanket to sleep with. Harvey's condo wasn't freezing but somewhat on the cooler side. As Harvey chucked the blanket at Mike, he said, "And then I'll laugh as I watch you scramble to get ready in time."

Mike wasn't fast enough and received a face full of blanket. Frowning, Mike started straightening it out and responded, "How am I supposed to wake up without an alarm?"

"Considering how late you are in the mornings about half the time, I'm not even sure if an alarm helps you. But I do believe you mentioned a bull in a china shop, so maybe that'll wake you up tomorrow beforehand," Harvey stated, smirking a bit.

Mike fought back a groan. He should have know those words would come back to bite him. "Then I guess I should have nothing to worry about," he managed to retort before realizing he would probably be eating those words tomorrow morning as well. "But what am I going to wear? I can't wear this suit for a third day in the row!" he pointed out, motioning to the suit folded up on the coffee table. Earlier that night, Mike had also just kept his boxers and T-shirt on.

"I guess you could borrow one of my suits," Harvey responded, clearly displeased. "But you'll be swimming in it, kid."

Shaking his head, Mike said, "I don't care. Anything's better than that suit."

Harvey started to head for his room when he stopped in his tracks. "Please tell me you took a shower before I got back," he stated.

"Of course I did," Mike snapped. "Believe it or not, I could actually feel the grime on me, so the first thing I did when I got to your place was take a shower."

Nodding, Harvey answered, "Good. I'll see you in the morning."

Not another word was said between the two as Harvey headed to bed. Although Mike could still see Harvey, the glass wall gave a sort of distance and privacy between the two. When the lights turned out five minutes later, Mike lay back down and nestled under the blanket. He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. Eventually, the wounds of the condo began to fade into the darkness. He could feel his consciousness becoming lighter and lighter before he was completely gone.

_Mike was panting as hard as he could, sprinting towards a small light in the distance. Although he couldn't hear his footsteps, he could hear the ones of his pursuer. Each breath was painful now, almost as if someone was taking a dagger to his lungs with every breath. His legs burned and kept getting heavier with every step. But the worst part of all was the fact that the light wasn't getting any bigger. He knew that getting to that light would keep him safe, but he just didn't know how to get there._

_Suddenly, Mike felt a hand grab the back of his collar. He let out a yelp, struggling as a large force pulled him back. "Please, don't kill me!" he cried out, fear overtaking his mind. His heart was beating even faster, and bile rose to the back of his throat. Was this really how his life was going to end?_

_The figure, completely shadowed in the dark, didn't say anything. He just took Mike's tie and began tightening it around his throat. As his supply of air became smaller and smaller, Mike felt his strength sucked away. He was losing the battle as well as his life. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he finally came to terms with death. At least then he would be able to see his parents again._

Jerking awake, Mike let out a strangled yell. He was panting pretty hard and had sweated through his clothes. Quickly, he looked over to see Harvey still in bed and sleeping soundly. Mike let out a sigh of relief. He didn't want Harvey to see him this weak. As he tasted something salty, Mike finally realized that he had tears streaming down his cheeks. Wiping them away, he took in a couple deep, shuddering breaths. He kept whispering to himself, "Everything's okay. You're alive. That was just a nightmare. And everything's okay."

Mike kicked his blankets off in order to cool off. Closing his eyes, Mike twisted a bit as he tried to fall back asleep. Unfortunately, sleep didn't bless him. Instead, he fell into a half-sleep. He felt as if he was awake the whole time since he could hear everything. However, time passed by extremely quickly. Before Mike knew it, Harvey was getting up and moving around the house. Mike felt horrible as he rolled off the couch and got up. Harvey was in the kitchen and was eating a bowl of oatmeal. Honestly, Harvey looked extremely normal.

Sauntering into the kitchen, Mike rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. The clock read 6:15, and he was in the mood for bashing his head in. That mood would leave once he downed a couple of cups of coffee. Looking around the kitchen, though, Mike realized that Harvey didn't have any coffee ready just yet. He sighed, not exactly having the energy to make a pot at that point of time.

"How did you sleep?" Harvey suddenly inquired in a rather indifferent tone.

"Pretty well. You have an extremely comfortable couch," Mike offered.

Harvey scoffed. "Of course I do! Why would I sit on a couch that's uncomfortable?" he reasoned before taking another bite of oatmeal.

"I apologize for trying to give you a compliment," Mike stated sarcastically as he rummaged through the pantry for something to eat.

Quickly, Harvey retorted, "Never apologize for giving me compliments. Apologize for giving bad ones."

Mike took a moment to fight off the urge to just flip Harvey off. Finding a box of Cheerios helped that moment. Grinning, Mike yanked it off the shelf and went on his next hunt for bowls. Although Harvey could have helped him, the older man said nothing as Mike opened cabinet after cabinet. Finally, Mike found the bowls and poured himself some Cheerios. He added milk and sugar to the mix before happily gobbling it up.

"You even eat like a kid," Harvey noted aloud.

Scowling, Mike looked up from his bowl. "Waddaya mean?" he asked, fighting spitting out any of the food.

"And talking with your mouth full?" Harvey inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Mike instantly became defensive. Swallowing the rest, he sat up and sharply said, "You're such a hypocrite! You've totally talked with your mouth full before."

"But I didn't look like a kid while doing it, did I?" Harvey countered, getting up and walking over to the sink.

As Harvey began to rinse his bowl, Mike retorted, "I told you it was disgusting, which is even worse than saying it was childlike."

"Maybe in your opinion," Harvey told him before putting the dish in the dishwasher. "Do the same for yours when you're done."

Mike frowned as Harvey nonchalantly walked out of the room. Looking back down at his bowl, he suddenly felt like he was a child again. He used to eat Cheerios all the time as a kid, especially when his parents were still alive. Although his grandmother knew how to cook, his mother hadn't been the most amazing chef. Suddenly, Mike felt a sense of longing that he hadn't felt in a long time. Loneliness had returned, bearing the guise of an old friend. Mike looked at the last Cheerio in the bowl before pushing it away. Why was he getting so emotional about Cheerios? It made absolutely no sense! His parents had been gone for a long time now, and Mike had almost always been able to successfully push those thoughts back.

As Harvey came back into the kitchen, he looked down at Mike's bowl and asked, "Aren't you going to finish that?"

"I'm full," Mike murmured.

Looking down at it, Harvey inquired, "And you're so full that you can't manage to eat the last Cheerio in the bowl?"

"I told you, I'm full!" Mike snapped, grabbing the bowl and spilling the contents into the sink as soon as he could.

Harvey looked at him strangely before shrugging and laying a suit on the counter. "Here's the suit you can borrow today," he said. "If the police won't let you retrieve some of the suits from your apartment, I guess you could just go out and buy some more."

"Harvey, I don't have the money for that. You _know_ that," Mike stated somewhat bitterly. "There's no way I can afford to buy six more suits just because my apartment is being investigated."

Sighing, Harvey responded, "Well, there's no way you can keep borrowing mine. You'll be swimming in them since they were tailored to fit me."

"I guess I'll figure something out then," Mike muttered, rinsing the bowl out and placing it in the dishwasher next to Harvey's. "I'll rent suits or something. I don't know. I'll worry about it later."

Just as Harvey was about to enter his walk-in closet, he called out, "Not a good mentality for a lawyer, kid!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Mike muttered under his breath as he snatched the suit from the counter.

Heading into the hall bathroom, he quickly changed. The suit didn't fit him properly, which Harvey had told him it wouldn't. The chest was too broad. Luckily, that was somewhat hard to notice when unbuttoned. But there was also the problem of the sleeves being too large. Harvey was definitely more built than Mike. If he remained sitting at his desk, though, he guessed no one would really notice it. Wearing Harvey's large tie, though, was definitely out of the question. He had always preferred the skinnier ties, which is why he had refused to change tie sizes once he had confirmed with Rachel that his tie size was, in fact, skinny. Folding it neatly, Mike brought it back out and quickly grabbed his tie from yesterday. Maybe wearing that would make people assume that he was still wearing his own suits?

"What's wrong with my tie?" Harvey asked as he watched Mike tie his tie.

Mike remarked, "It's too large for me. My scrawny neck wouldn't be able to hold up the weight all day long. By the end of the day, my head would probably be close to scraping against the ground."

"Well, I guess kids do have to wear smaller clothes as a rule," Harvey concurred, smirking as he grabbed his tie. "I'll just put this away, and we'll head down."

About five minutes later, Mike and Harvey were sitting comfortably in the car. Mike wasn't used to not riding his bike to work, and he missed that sense of freedom. After all, he could choose which route to take that day as well as when he wanted to go back home. And on the way back, he could decide if he wanted to stop off anywhere to eat or get something to drink. He had had freedom with that bike; a freedom that was now gone. As the silence continued, Mike felt the need to ask. Minutes ticked by before he managed to pucker up the courage.

Looking out the car window, Mike queried, "I wonder if it would be okay if I rode my bike back tonight."

"Why?" Harvey asked, clearly confused as to why Mike would want to put forth that kind of effort.

Mike shrugged, still looking out the window. "I just don't feel comfortable with it standing outside Pearson Hardman this whole time," he replied.

"With that lock on it, that bike's pretty safe there," Harvey told him.

Knowing Harvey wouldn't let this drop until he had the real answer, Mike turned and stated, "Fine. You want to know why? It's because I need a sense of normality in my life, Harvey. Everything's been changed so quickly and so much that I feel out of my element here. I just want ten minutes to not feel like my life's been flipped inside-out."

"Fine, you can ride your stupid bike back. But you have to park it outside the hotel. And you have to leave when I leave. I don't want Jessica getting on my case more than she has to be," Harvey informed him

Mike smiled as he heard the response. "I will," he told the older male.

Eventually, the car came to a resting stop just outside the firm. Harvey stepped out of the vehicle, and Mike was forced to wait for traffic before he could open his car door safely as well. By the time he got out, Harvey was already climbing the stairs. Mike hurried to catch up to him, bumping into a deliveryman in the process.

"I'm so sorry!" he said sincerely. He didn't want someone to think he was just a cocky associate who thought he was better than someone with a blue-collar job. Or – in this case – brown.

The man turned his head, but his uniform's hat kept his face hidden. "Don't worry about it, sir," he answered in a deep voice.

But Mike was already speeding off. He barely managed to catch up with Harvey before the older man went through security. Showing his badge, Mike went through the metal detectors and finally stopped next to Harvey outside the elevator. A slight smirk lit Harvey's face as he noted, "You're slow."

"You try getting out on the side with traffic sometime. See how you fare," Mike mumbled bitterly as the elevator doors opened. They both stepped inside, and Harvey hit the appropriate floor number. Wanting to change subjects, Mike suddenly asked, "Did you hear about the celebratory dinner Ms. Pearson wants to have in order to honor me?"

Harvey glanced over at Mike. "For what? Running away from danger? Is that something our society honors nowadays?"

Feathers now ruffled, Mike retorted, "I apparently kept the burglars from staying there all night until they got what they wanted. And I helped the firm by doing so. That's why she wants to hold a dinner for me."

"You really are naïve," Harvey muttered, shaking his head.

Mike almost pouted when he heard that, but anger overrode that emotion pretty quickly. "How am I naïve when it comes to this? She told me herself, Harvey, that that's what she wanted to do and why."

"Which is why you're naïve," Harvey responded as the doors opened.

He stepped out, but Mike wasn't about to let this go anytime soon. Hot on Harvey's heels, Mike said, "Please, go on. Explain to me exactly _how_ it is I am being naïve."

Stopping in front of Donna's desk, Harvey spun on his heels and glared back at Mike. "The fact that you can't figure this out yourself worries me, but I'm feeling giving today, so I'll just tell you. Jessica is going to hold a dinner in your honor in order to keep you happy."

"What do you mean by that?" Mike asked, completely dumbfounded by the sudden declaration.

Harvey leaned in a bit. "I mean that you could probably sue this company for a good amount of money on different grounds," he responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Honestly, Mike didn't want to believe Harvey. He wanted to believe that someone actually thought what he did wasn't a cowardly thing. He wanted to believe that someone might actually be looking out for him. "But I didn't even think of suing the firm," Mike pointed out.

"All thanks to her keeping you happy," Harvey pointed out. "Think about it, Mike. It's why she made sure none of the associates would tease you about it. And it's also the reason she ordered me to no longer make you pull more than one all-nighter per week. And to top it off, it's why she threatened to take you 'under her wing' if I failed to listen to my instructions. She would be doing that with the intent of keeping a closer eye on you."

Mike felt completely heartbroken. Although he tried to put up a good façade, he was sure that he failed. "I need to go see what Louis put on my desk," he abruptly said, changing the conversation instantly.

As he turned to go, he noticed Donna looking at him sympathetically. This just made him feel more humiliated. As quickly as he could, he headed back to his desk. Some files were sitting on it, a welcome reprieve from what had just happened. What really caught his attention, though, was a long, white cardboard box sitting on his desk. Walking around the cubicle, Mike sat down and looked at it. Part of him was concerned that one of the associates had decided to take a chance and harass him. There was a card attached to it; nothing fancy, just a folded, rectangular cardboard piece.

"Who's the lucky girl?" someone asked out of the blue.

Jumping a bit, Mike looked up to see Rachel standing over him. He looked back down and responded, "Um. I'm not sure, to be honest. I mean, I don't have a girlfriend."

"Well you must have done something nice for someone, because that package was hand delivered," Rachel told him. "Come on, you can tell me."

Mike shrugged. "It might be from Jenny. I helped her study for a final about a week ago," he suggested. He unfolded the card to read "To The One Who Got Away," which was written in beautiful calligraphy. Frowning, he commented, "No, it definitely wasn't Jenny."

"Then open it," Rachel pressed. "Maybe it's something cool that the firm wants to give you."

Although that idea sounded pretty exciting, Mike wasn't sure that was the case either. By now, though, several other associates had started surrounding Mike's cubicle to see what he got as well. None of them said anything. They merely watched and waited. Slowly, Mike raised the lid and cautiously looked inside. Inside, a black rose stretched across the entire length of the box. A piece of paper sat on top of the rose. Mike read it, and his heart nearly stopped.

"Come out, come out wherever you are…"

Mike could hear the hum of voices all around him, but they were too distant for him to really notice. His eyes were locked onto the note, the beautiful and matching calligraphy taunting him. Whoever had chased him that night had gotten back into the building… and maybe even to his cubicle! Breathing increasing, Mike felt overwhelmed all at once. He wasn't safe here at Pearson Hardman either. As long as they didn't know who the two intruders were, both people could come and go as they pleased. Hell, they could come in pretending to be clients. It wouldn't be impossible since it was clear that security wasn't doing its job at all. Or they might be able to grab him on his way out. There were no cameras outside the firm, so that would definitely be a safer bet.

Suddenly, Mike understood Jessica's order to Harvey. She had wanted them to come and leave together in order to avoid such a possibility. How could he have not noticed that before? He really was naïve as Harvey said! And that naïveté was probably going to get him killed. Feeling lightheaded, Mike tried to take in deep breaths only to fail. He had once learned how to cope with a panic attack, but all of that went out the window the moment the panic attack started. All his brain could process was the fact that he wasn't safe here. He wasn't safe here.

"Mike!" a voice yelled, breaking through his panic. "Mike, I need you to listen to my voice. Can you hear me?"

Eyes focusing, Mike jerked his head up to see Harvey looking down at him. "H-Harvey?" Mike called out, his voice unsure.

"I need you to close your eyes and focus on something that makes you feel safe," Harvey said, his voice taking a somewhat warm tone. "Think about a beach on your own private island. Or think about fond childhood experiences."

Concentrating, Mike pulled up a detailed picture of the one place that made him feel safe: Harvey's condo. Just as in the actual condo, Mike had blankets in a messy pile on the couch. The kitchen was immaculate as well as the two bathrooms. Harvey's bedroom was still just as viewable as before. Mike remembered the nice TV Harvey had, a TV that put Mike's to shame. Slowly, Mike began to remember the cold feel of the floors. He always had to wear socks while in Harvey's condo. Harvey was also there, an added protection. Mike focused on that and started to calm down.

With his eyes still closed, Mike pointed meekly at the box. "It-it's from…" he started to say. However, he was actually unable to form the words that had led him to his minor panic attack. Acknowledging the situation wouldn't help.

"I know," Harvey said quietly. "Don't worry about that right now. Just keep focusing on that image and tell me when you feel better."

Mike went over a few more details of the condo before relaxing completely and calming down. "We're going to have to call the police – for the third time in three days," he pointed out, opening his eyes.

"Luckily, our case has been assigned to two detectives, and I have their information on my desk. Would you like to get it while I make sure no one comes in and touches anything?"

Mike processed everything Harvey said and weakly nodded. Unsteadily, he rose to his feet and headed towards Harvey's office. It was only then that he noticed that there wasn't a single other person in the entire room. Donna looked like she was going to say something to him, but Mike guessed that the look on his face shut her up pretty fast. He was in Harvey's room for a total of one minute since the papers needed were right at the top of the stack. Apparently a Detective D'Onofrio and a Detective Erbe would be handling the case. Their numbers and emails were also on the papers. Once Mike returned, he handed them to Harvey.

"Go sit this one out in my office," Harvey ordered him. "At least until you get some of your sanity back. You're of no use to me if you stay like this, and being around this package probably won't help. The detectives will come ask you questions the moment they need to."

Mike looked up and quietly said, "I'm not safe here either."

Harvey appeared legitimately stunned and concerned when he heard this. Without saying another word, Mike turned around and began to walk away. Harvey called out, "Mike." Mike stopped and looked back. "I don't make promises lightly, but the ones I make I keep. Do you understand me?"

Nodding in acknowledgement, Mike silently turned back around and headed towards Harvey's office. He would lie down in there and see if he could relax for a bit. The Prospects were doubtful, but at least it was better than waiting for the police out there. As he shuffled past Donna and entered Harvey's office, Mike secretly wondered if Harvey would be able to keep his promise or not.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **A congratulations goes out to _The Peep93_ for being the first (and only that noted it in reviews) to notice the irony in the detectives' names. For those of you who didn't catch it, the names I used are the names of the two actors who play a pair of detectives on the television show _Law & Order: Criminal Intent. _Enjoy the chapter. It's shorter than the other ones, but it's somewhat key for the plot to continue.

* * *

><p>For the third night in a row since the delivery, Mike jerked awake in the middle of the night. He let out a strangled cry as his brain triggered exactly where he was. Quickly, he looked over at Harvey's bedroom. Every other night, Harvey had remained soundly sleeping. Mike had come to the conclusion that Harvey could sleep through the apocalypse. However, Harvey wasn't laying in his bed tonight. Mike jerked around to see an extremely tired Harvey standing in the kitchen with a coffee in his hands. Glancing at the clock, Mike read that it was three in the morning.<p>

"What are you doing up?" he inquired. Never in a million years would Mike have thought that Harvey suffered from insomnia.

Harvey glanced up a moment before looking back down at his coffee. "I could ask you the same question," he replied curtly before taking another sip.

"Seriously," Mike said, "why are you up? You're normally a pretty sound sleeper."

Shrugging, Harvey replied, "I have a lot on my mind. What about you?"

"The same," Mike murmured.

There was a long silence between the two of them. Suddenly, Harvey asked, "So when are you planning to tell me about the nightmares you've been having?"

Now rigid, Mike looked down at the blanket. "How long have you known?" he inquired, feeling his face get hotter with every passing second.

"I heard you the first night you cried out. I didn't want to say anything until you brought it up to me, but they sound like they're getting worse," Harvey stated.

Mike was completely humiliated when he heard this. Even the cold-hearted Harvey pitied how weak he was. Rubbing his face, Mike shook his head back and forth. "How embarrassing," he thought aloud.

"Crying out in your sleep?" Harvey clarified, a hint of laughter in his voice. When Mike glared at him, though, he stopped smiling completely. "Look, kid, you need to learn how to make light of things. If not that then you need to learn how to take a mean-spirited joke good-heartedly."

Confused, Mike looked over and inquired, "Is this some sort of pep talk? Because if it is, you suck at it."

"It isn't," Harvey replied. "It's the cold, hard truth. Everyone gives everyone shit at Pearson Hardman. It's the way we keep our relationships close. I _loathe_ Louis with my entire being, but I know that he will pull through for me if I ever have to ask for a favor. Jessica rides me hard all the time, but she and I still go out for drinks after winning a case together. The bonds you make now will last if you make partner, which you will if you remain my associate. Being able to take a joke about an embarrassing situation is something you're going to have to learn to do. Also, you definitely have to learn how to give better jests and pranks to the others. If you don't, no one will ever respect you."

Looking at Harvey skeptically, Mike retorted, "So the best way for me to make close friends is to make jokes at their expense all the time?"

"Not all the time," Harvey corrected. "Just most of it."

Mike looked away for a moment, making it appear as if he was in thought. Then he answered, "That sounds just as good as the last advice you gave me. You know, the advice that wound up humiliating me in front of all the senior partners and Ms. Pearson."

"You were the one stupid enough to not get the agreement in writing," Harvey fired back. Mike bit his tongue as he heard this in order to keep himself from saying something too nasty. This was his _boss_ after all. Harvey could fire him at any time, although that would probably lead him to suing the firm just to be able to get the money to take care of his grandmother. Suddenly, Harvey continued, "You've done a good job of keeping me preoccupied, but it won't last forever. I'm a stubborn man. I don't let anything go."

Mike pointed out, "I could say the same for you!"

"I'm much more stubborn than you. So how about you make a deal. If you tell me what's on your mind, I'll tell you what's on mine," Harvey stated.

Mike sighed, realizing this was a huge give-and-take situation. Rubbing his eyes again, he searched for a way to explain everything. "There's something I haven't told you yet about that night. I didn't tell anyone about it. Don't ask me why, because I don't know. It's just… It was so personal that I didn't feel like I could tell anyone about it."

Fixedly attentive, Harvey put down his coffee cup and gazed at Mike. Mike could feel the eyes on the side of his head, but he refused to meet the gaze. Instead, he just stared down at the blanket and twiddled his thumbs. "What happened?" Harvey finally pressed after a long moment of silence.

"When I made it outside, I didn't head straight across the street. I started running down the sidewalk. It wasn't long before the guy was basically on my heels. I-I," Mike hesitated, reminding himself that talking about it wouldn't bring the guy to Harvey's apartment. "I felt his hand barely miss snagging the back of my collar. He brushed it, and right after that is when I bolted across the street."

The room remained quiet for a long moment after that statement. Fidgeting, Mike was being smothered by the silence. He didn't know what Harvey was thinking, but it probably couldn't be good, right? Normally, Harvey always had something witty to say. Maybe he was forcing back a bunch of jests in order to let Mike keep whatever pride he had left. Or maybe he was trying to keep himself from laughing at how much of a coward Mike really was. Even now, Mike had a hard time seeing himself as the firm's hero. "Why didn't you tell anyone this?" Harvey finally inquired, making Mike jump a bit.

"I guess," Mike began, pausing a moment as he tried to sort out his thoughts and feelings. "I guess it was because I had been so close to getting caught. Who knows what that guy would have done to me if he had managed to grab me? I might have never seen the next day. Hell, I might have never seen the next couple of hours. That thought scares me."

Harvey suddenly stated, "That's just silly." Instantly defensive, Mike shot off his seat and glared at Harvey. Before Mike could say anything, though, Harvey went on, "Why are you sitting here worried about what might have happened if you had been caught? That moment is over. It's not like these guys are going to make time machines, go back to that night, and make sure they grab you. Instead of wasting your time worrying about what might have been, you need to focus on the present. We still have three good cases on our plates, all of which need your full attention."

Wavering, Mike felt his anger-created defense fall apart. He felt his eyes heat up, though, with the sudden hurt he felt. Although he couldn't really say why, Harvey's reaction – albeit logical – had hurt his feelings. What had he been expecting, though? For Harvey to hug him and tell him everything was going to be just fine? That's something Gran would have done, not Harvey. But Mike realized that that reaction is what he really needed. He needed someone to cry on so he could let his fears and anxiety go. Gran had always been there for him before, but now he couldn't really depend on her. He couldn't really depend on anyone.

Another panic attack was beginning to settle in on him. Mike quickly said, "I need to use the bathroom." He then sprinted there, slamming the door shut and locking it just for good measure. Then he headed over to the sink and braced himself against it. As his vision became blurry, Mike fought to keep taking deep breaths.

Suddenly, there was a pounding on the door. "Let me in, Mike," Harvey said angrily.

"Just leave me alone for right now, Harvey. You should know better than anyone how to do that," Mike retorted, barely keeping his voice from breaking. He looked up in the mirror to find tears rolling down his cheeks. His eyes had already become bloodshot, making the blue irises brighter than normal.

Harvey snapped back, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're extremely talented in ignoring me when you don't feel like bothering with me," Mike clarified, wiping the tears from his cheeks. He had to get himself under control! What was wrong with him lately? All of the sudden, the door opened. Mike jumped away from the sink and stared at Harvey, whom was standing in the doorway. "I locked that door. How the hell did you-?" he started to ask.

Holding up a key, Harvey responded, "I don't like being locked out of a room in my house. Girls had a tendency to hole themselves up sometimes, so it was my countermeasure. Now when I hired you, I told you I needed a grown ass man. I'd really like for this guy to come out right about now."

Mike took in a deep breath. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with me. I normally can handle this kind of shit, but I've just been so out of it since this whole thing began," he stated, rubbing his eyes.

"It's from the lack of sleep," Harvey said. "How much sleep do you feel you've been getting?"

Shaking his head, Mike replied, "I don't know. Not a lot, I guess. Between the nightmares and stress, I haven't really been able to calm down completely."

"Have you ever had this happen to you before?" Harvey inquired.

Mike winced as he heard this question. Of all things, Mike did _not_ want to bring up this part of his past. So he decided to keep it vague. Harvey had never been the type to listen to his chatter anyway. "My parents both died when I was young, and I had to move in with my grandmother, which is why I am so close to her today. For a while after their deaths, I had problems sleeping," he stated. "Basically just like now – nightmares and stress."

"How did you get over it?" Harvey pressed, sounding actually a bit curious.

Flushing, Mike quietly told him, "I was younger then, mind you, so I don't want to hear anything about it. My gran used to have to lie with me. When I knew someone else was there, I didn't have nightmares. Over time, we separated ourselves until I could sleep alone again."

Harvey didn't seem too thrilled as he heard this. Shaking his head, he murmured something to himself. Mike shifted uncomfortably as he tried to figure out a way out of this situation. Just as he was about to say something, though, Harvey said, "Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers, right? C'mon, kid."

"Go where?" Mike asked, completely confused. Rolling his eyes, Harvey grabbed Mike's wrist and dragged him out of the bathroom, turning off the light as they left. Mike staggered behind Harvey, unsure of what exactly was going on. As soon as they reached Harvey's bed, though, Mike's confusion increased tenfold. "What are you doing?" Mike queried, staring at the bed.

Harvey gazed back at him. "What do you think I'm doing? It's four in the morning. We are going to go back to sleep," he stated matter-of-factly. "Starting with you."

"Why are you doing this? Isn't it weird?" Mike inquired.

"It's probably one of the weirdest things I've ever done, but it has to be done," Harvey responded. "I need my associate to come out on top of this, or I have placed my ass and reputation on the line for nothing. If this is the only way I can do it then I'm willing to get down and dirty. Now get in."

Sliding into the over-sized bed, Mike took up the left-hand side. He felt a dip in the bed as Harvey slid in after him. Despite the fact that this was the first time Mike had ever shared a bed with a man, he wasn't as thrown off as he thought he would be. It was strange… but in a foreign sense, not an uncomfortable one. Closing his eyes, Mike said, "You haven't kept your end of the deal yet."

"What do you think I'm about to do? Watch you fall asleep?" Harvey asked rhetorically. "Of course not. I'm going to fulfill our deal."

Mike didn't even really care about the snap. "Then get on with it!" he demanded.

"Just relax, and I will. If you open your eyes, though, I'm going to stop," Harvey told him. He paused a moment. "I was thinking that there's something off with this case. There's something that I'm not seeing."

Readjusting his face on the pillow, Mike queried, "Isn't that the police department's problem? You should be worrying about the three cases we have to get done for the firm."

"Don't tell me what I should and should not worry about. I'm not the puppy here," Harvey ordered. Mike didn't respond. Instead, he waited for Harvey to continue, which the older man did a couple moments later. "You see, our copiers are state-of-the-art, but almost every good company has our make of copier. The fact that we can reprint the last copies made is almost standard on copiers nowadays. So that brings up the question as to why these guys would copy something if they knew we would be able to see what later on."

Mike chuckled as he heard this. "Next thing I know, you'll be telling me that we didn't land on the moon and that there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll," he said sarcastically. He was tempted to look at Harvey, but he remembered the not-so-empty threat and kept his eyes shut. "Besides, that's the reason they printed a bunch of the files. They didn't want us to know which one they had actually been targeting."

"I thought about that as well, but I just can't shake this feeling that we're overlooking something important," Harvey said.

Sighing, Mike reiterated, "And that's why we have two detectives working on the case, Harvey. It's their job to figure out what's going on and why. If you overlooked something then it's their job to figure out what. Seriously, how would you feel if a very successful surgeon came into Pearson Hardman for the day to tell you how to do your job? And don't even think about lying to me, because we both know how well you would take it."

"Still," Harvey murmured, his voice trailing. "When you first saw the two in my office, what were they doing?"

Pausing for a moment, Mike thought back. "One was going through your files while the other was trying to log into your computer," he answered.

"He never logged in, which makes me wonder why he was so determined in the first place. Everything they needed should have been on the desk," Harvey pointed out.

Mike responded, "Unless they thought there might be extra information on there that isn't in the file."

"That could be the case, but then I also want to know why they would torment you," Harvey stated, his voice sounding a bit dark.

Now confused, Mike inquired, "What do you mean? I saw them."

"You saw nothing. They know that because they took the precaution of wearing masks," Harvey responded. "So why would they torment you the very next day? They told you to come out of hiding, but it makes no sense that they would target you. If anything, they should have sent something to taunt me with."

Frowning, Mike tried to explain everything away only to realize he couldn't. He didn't want to give in, though, so he blurted out, "Maybe I did see something important, but I just don't know what it is."

"Now who's telling me that the government is hiding alien spaceships at Area 51?" Harvey countered. "You saw something important but didn't realize it at the time? That's the dumbest theory I've ever heard of."

Mike fought down the growing defensive anger he felt. "What if I subconsciously have information that could crack this case wide open?" he asked.

"You're an idiot," Harvey said, scoffing a bit.

Groaning into his pillow, Mike responded, "No, I'm just tired."

"Then go to sleep," Harvey told him.

"It's hard to go to sleep when you're having an interactive conversation with someone else," Mike responded somewhat bitterly.

Harvey chuckled as he heard this. "First you complain because I don't hold up my end of the bargain then you complain because I did," he stated. "You need to make up your mind, kid."

"Shaddup," Mike murmured, his eyes becoming heavier. "You're so cold, Harvey. You're like the Grinch."

Harvey retorted, "What? Fuzzy and green? Hater of Christmas? Santa Claus impersonator?"

"Born with a heart three sizes too small," Mike mumbled. If Harvey came up with a good retort afterwards, Mike didn't hear it. He lost himself in the calming darkness and silence of sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Since I'm new around here, I thought it important to tell you guys a little bit about me. I place hours into writing each chapter posted in this story, and I wind up losing a good part of two or sometimes even three days. Getting reviews in between writing chapters really keeps me going. Because I know how this story is going to end, I tend to lose motivation if no one really seems interested in reading it. **So, please, take the time to leave a review. ** It takes just a couple minutes max, and it let's me know that there are still people out there interested in reading this story. This isn't meant to be a scare tactic; you can still not review if that's just how you are. But I just wanted you all to know how I am.

Meanwhile, I would like to thank the four people who took the time to review chapter four. A million thanks goes out to: **Rosejoanna, mrPostman, Haliae, **and** Lola-Di-Black**! You guys pushed me to make this next chapter happen - a chapter I happen to be very proud of. I hope everyone enjoys.

* * *

><p>"Change into a suit and let's get going," Harvey called out as he came out of his bedroom tying one of his ridiculously large ties.<p>

Mike, who had just sat down to enjoy watching a new television show, looked up at Harvey with wide, hurt eyes. "But _USA Network_ just came out with a new series. It looks very promising," he started to reason, motioning to the TV. "And this is the first time I've ever been able to watch anything in HD!"

"What a sad life you lead," Harvey murmured, shaking his head in mock pity. "But there's no getting out of this, so just record the show and watch it later."

"You can record stuff like this?" Mike exclaimed, staring at the TV with wide eyes. "That's freaking awesome, Harvey! How do you do it?"

"You hit the record button on the remote controller," Harvey answered, pointing towards the remote.

Mike looked just like a little kid as he hit the button and looked at the TV expectantly. When it asked of Mike wanted to record the remainder of the event, Mike's grin widened as he selected "OK." Still excited, Mike looked back at Harvey and responded, "Does that mean I could record anything during the week and then watch it on the weekends?"

"It does, but if I start finding inappropriate shows on there, I'll delete them and hide the remote," Harvey informed him. "Now you've wasted enough time. We have an emergency client meeting, so get on your suit and let's go."

Instantly, this struck Mike as odd. He tried to remember the last time a situation like this had ever come up. There wasn't. "You _never_ see a client outside of the work. You didn't even see Ray outside of work when you were doing his case pro bono. So who is this mystery client who can't wait until Monday morning to meet with us?" Mike asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"Am I paying you to question me?" Harvey asked.

Although Mike knew it was a rhetorical question, but he decided to answer him anyway, "Actually, you sort of did. I always have to double-check everything, which translates to me basically questioning your work to begin with. Second of all, I'm off the clock, so you're not paying me at all."

"Now you're sounding like a lawyer," Harvey said approvingly, and Mike felt a bit perkier when he heard this. He crossed his arms and stared down at Mike with a piercing gaze. "Then you should be able to tell me where we're going if we're not going to see a client. You technically have all the information you need."

Mike frowned and muted the television. Closing his eyes, he began to think back. Both of them had made it through another week at work without something happening, so it couldn't be anything to do with the case. They didn't have any open cases that he knew about, so there's no way it could be a client calling for an emergency meeting. As he continued to think back, a horrifying thought came to his mind. He wanted to discard it and insist that there was no way that was it. But he knew it very well could be.

"Please don't tell me it's the honorary dinner," Mike murmured, silently begging for Harvey to scoff at him and call him an idiot.

Grinning a bit, Harvey answered, "Considering when it's going to be is supposed to be a secret, you didn't hear it from me."

"Harvey, I can't go to that," Mike declared, his voice revealing his panic. "Please don't make me go."

Harvey seemed somewhat surprised by Mike's reaction. "What do you mean you can't go? You were completely psyched about this dinner when you first told me about it," Harvey responded, a bit miffed.

"And then you told me that she only wanted to host this dinner so I didn't sue the company. That sort of killed any form of pride I would have had while there. Now if I go, everyone will just smile to my face and whisper behind my back. They'll call me an idiot for falling for it, and God knows what the other associates will say. If I go, they'll just run a bunch of jokes around and around. I'll become their… their… jokes punching bag!" Mike exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

Shaking his head, Harvey replied, "Kid, you still have a lot to learn. Not everyone in the company has to like you, you know. Associates are basically next to nothing for us, so it doesn't really matter what they think. And why should you care what they say about you behind your back? Who's to say that they weren't saying things yesterday? But you didn't care then. Jessica's the main person you want to suck up to. And considering this was her idea, I think it would be best you go. Besides, there has been too much work placed into setting up this dinner, Mike. We can't just cancel it now."

"Sure we can!" Mike told him. "Just tell them that I'm sick. You can say anything you want as long as I don't have to humiliate myself in front of the entire firm."

Harvey gave make a hard look. "I'll tell them that you have exploding diarrhea and that I have to wear a gas mask just to get into my own condo thanks to some spicy food you ate earlier. If you think the associates would have made fun of you by going, just think of all the wonderful things they'll say to you when they hear that. And I guarantee you that you'll hear everything directly from them."

"But," Mike started to counter, faltering. He wasn't sure what was worse: having the fellow associates think he was the biggest idiot around or having them think he couldn't handle eating spicy and hearing about it for weeks. Harvey had stuck him between a rock and a hard place, and Mike wasn't seeing an easy way out.

As soon as he said that, though, Harvey gave him a look that said that this particular conversation was over. "Change into a suit now," he ordered. "If you waste another minute, we're going to be late."

Grumbling crossly, Mike got off the couch and stalked to the closet. Since it was clear that his stay was going to be longer, Harvey had actually made some room in the walk-in closet… in the far-back… right corner. Quickly changing, Mike quietly seethed. He didn't want to go to this stupid dinner just to be secretly laughed at by everyone. As soon as he was changed, Mike grabbed two ties and headed out of the closet. He brought them out and opened his mouth to ask which one he should wear.

"The blue one," Harvey stated. "It brings out your eyes."

Mike hesitated, not sure if he should comment about how strange that advice was or not. Deciding against it, he tossed the red tie onto the couch and tied the blue one around his neck. As soon as Mike put it on, Harvey headed towards the door. Mike slumped forward a bit and headed out the door. Waiting at the elevator, Mike refused to look at Harvey. He was already humiliated, and he hadn't even gotten there yet.

As the elevator doors opened, Harvey said, "You really shouldn't go to the party so determined to have a bad time."

"How can I not when I know what they'll actually be thinking," Mike countered.

Harvey hit the lobby button before facing Mike. "Do you know what your problem is?"

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway," Mike responded.

Looking over, Harvey said, "You don't think what you did was a big deal. Deep down, you believe that you are a coward, so you don't understand why anyone would think you're not. That's why you are so sure that everyone's going to be making fun of you. You need to be more confident in yourself."

"Harvey, there were two intruders going through your stuff, and I ran," Mike stated. "If running away isn't cowardly, I don't know what is."

Harvey shook is head and muttered something under his breath that Mike couldn't catch. Scowling, Mike stalked across the lobby. Outside the building, Ray was waiting with the car. Mike didn't even wait for Harvey to get in first like he normally did. Hell, he didn't even go around the car like normal. Instead, he ripped the car door open and slid across the seat. Harvey slid in behind him, not saying a single thing. Meanwhile, Ray jumped into the front seat and started driving.

"This dinner was supposed to be a surprise," Harvey stated. "So act surprised when you go in to see everyone. And try to act happy to be there, would you? It would help your reputation with the senior partners and Jessica."

Mike responded, "Fine. I'll do my best."

"Do better than that," Harvey countered. "Trust me. I've seen your best."

"Very funny," Mike said sarcastically.

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, and Mike was secretly kicking himself for his childish reaction. Although Mike had been getting more than enough sleep lately thanks to Harvey, his irritation had shot through the roof. He had been struggling with the load of three cases on his shoulders the whole week. For some reason, Harvey had just assumed that Mike could handle the caseload. He could… but just barely. All through the week, Mike had been getting home just long enough to brush his teeth, get changed, and pass out on the bed. How he was ever going to make it to partner was beyond Mike's imagination. But the constant stress had left Mike's patience short, and all he had wanted to do tonight was watch that stupid television show.

Suddenly, the car stopped. Mike looked out to find they were outside of an extremely nice restaurant. Getting out of the car, Mike made sure that his tie was straight as he headed with Harvey into the restaurant. Mike walked in and was overwhelmed. The restaurant in and of itself was gorgeous; wood floors sprawled out in all directions, a black bar gave the place a somewhat sophisticated look, the employees were wearing perfectly clean and pressed uniforms, and the dimmed lighting nicely pulled everything together. A huge banner was hung from the ceiling and said, "Thank You, Mr. Ross!" It looked as if the entire company was there, everyone facing the entrance. At the same time, they all yelled, "Surprise!"

"Wow!" Mike exclaimed, forcing a smile to his face. "This is so," he started to say before stopping. He looked back at Harvey, trying to figure out what words to use in order to not give anything away. "I just – I don't know what to say. Thank you so much, everyone."

Jessica Pearson stepped out from the crowd. "Actually, that's what we're here to say to you," she stated. "Harvey seems to have been able to get you here without you suspecting anything, which was what we were most worried about."

"I told him that we had an emergency client meeting to go to," Harvey responded.

Laughing, Jessica inquired, "And he fell for that? Since when have you ever taken emergency meetings from clients outside the workweek?" She looked over at Mike and said, "You really are a puppy, aren't you?"

"That's right," Mike responded, not feeling humiliated at all. He ducked his head in order to appear so. "But this is a lovely surprise."

Jessica handed Mike a glass of champagne and said, "Well, go mingle! You're the man of the hour, so go enjoy every second of it."

"I will," Mike responded.

With that, he delved into the crowd. He had no idea how much time passed. Everyone kept offering their congratulations to him – from senior partner to associate. It seemed that everyone wanted to shake his hand and tell him that he did a good job. Somehow, Mike kept a smile plastered to his face as he wondered what they were seriously thinking. Who knows how much time later, Mike was feeling stretched thin. Suddenly, Donna appeared, smiling widely as she took a sip of her champagne.

"How are you feeling, Wonder Boy?" she inquired somewhat slyly. "Gotten any good numbers from the girls here yet?"

Mike scoffed as he heard this. "Yeah, Donna, but I must say that I haven't gotten any from the girls I'm interested in. Feeling up to changing that?" he teased.

"If I did, I'd feel like a cougar," Donna responded. "You look too much like a kid." Smiling truly for the first time, Mike relaxed a bit. Donna wouldn't hold false pretenses, so he didn't' have to worry about what she was really thinking. "So what do you think of it?" she inquired, motioning around the restaurant.

Looking around, Mike nodded subconsciously. "I can't get what Harvey told me out of my head though. I mean, I'm thrilled that Ms. Pearson took the time to put this all together, but-"

"Harvey told you that she did this?" Donna inquired, clearly shocked.

Confused, Mike answered, "No, he didn't. But Ms. Pearson was the one who wanted to do this dinner in the first place, so I just assumed…"

"Never assume anything," Donna told him. "That should have been the first thing you learned when coming to Pearson Hardman."

Mike looked around the restaurant. "Well, if Ms. Pearson didn't do this then who did?"

"Harvey did," Donna replied in a lower voice but with a tone that said was the most obvious thing. Mike was stunned as he registered her words. The Harvey Specter had taken time to do something outside of work for Mike? That hardly made any sense, especially since Harvey had been the one to tell him why Jessica was doing this in the first place. "He's been slaving over this dinner all week, which is why you got stuck with doing the grunt work of all three cases," she went on.

Blinking a couple times, Mike clarified, "_Harvey_ did this? But why?"

"You'll have to ask him yourself, kid," she stated. "But considering he didn't tell you, I wouldn't suggest for you to go confront him. There's probably a reason he didn't want you to know."

Mike felt a little better after he heard this. Just as he was about to say something, several loud _clink_s caught his attention. He looked over to find Jessica and Harvey standing on the bar. "Could I have everyone's attention, please?" Jessica called out.

"Hey," someone whispered in his ear. Mike turned to see Rachel standing next to him.

Smiling, Mike responded, "Hey! I looked for you earlier, but I didn't see you."

"Mr. Specter has some words to say about our Mr. Ross," Jessica continued.

Mike turned to hear this, grinning somewhat sadistically. "This ought to be good," he murmured to Rachel.

As Jessica stepped down, Harvey began to speak, "Of all the senior partners, I pulled the short straw and was forced to give this speech. Now, I'm supposed to give a moving speech about how important Mike is to the company. The fact is, though, that I don't lie." With that, everyone laughed. Mike joined in. He had figured that Harvey would make a bunch of jokes at his expense anyway, so he might as well enjoy the speech. "However, Mike has become important and somewhat essential to my work life. I just have to make sure he's never alone with any of my clients." Once more, laughter spread throughout the room, but Mike flushed a bit this time. Harvey still didn't allow him to be alone with the clients.

Suddenly, though, Harvey's disposition completely changed. "But for all the shit I give him, Mike has to be the best damn associate I've ever seen," he stated proudly. "To those of you who think that you have long, grueling hours, you should try being my associate for a week. Most of you would be crying after the first day. Mike, on the other hand, has been able to deal with me for months. If for nothing else, I thought that he should be recognized for that."

"Sir?" one of the caterers quietly said, handing Mike a glass and napkin. Mike was too drawn into Harvey's speech to really notice. He just muttered his thanks and carefully held the glass so none of the contents would spill.

"So here's to Michael James Ross – the fastest man in our building," Harvey stated, lifting his drink.

Laughter was the direct response to Harvey's jest. Although Harvey had been able to play off speech at the very end, Mike was moved by the sudden and extremely public vote of confidence. Raising his own glass, Mike gave Harvey an almost imperceptible nod. Despite the fact that Harvey didn't visually signal that he saw, Mike knew he did since Harvey was staring right at him. Right after, he downed his own drink in one go.

Rachel drank a sip from hers before turning to face Mike again. "It sounds like he actually took the time to prep that speech," she noted.

"He was probably told he drew the short stick a while back," Mike offered, trying to keep Harvey's reputation intact. "But it was better than I thought it would be."

Nodding slightly, Rachel responded, "I've never seen him vouch for someone like that before. You must have really impressed him, Mike."

"I just try to do my best, really," Mike told her.

She looked down at his hands and remarked, "And it appears to be working out really well for you. Is that a number I see on your napkin?"

"What? No, I-" Mike started to say when he saw writing on his napkin. The calligraphy looked familiar, and his heart dropped a bit. He could feel the smile fall away from his face. Straightening out the napkin, he read the words, "Have you finally come out to play?"

That's when Mike had a horrifying realization. Although these people hadn't bothered him in over a week, they were still there. They could get to him whenever they wanted. And they were after him. They just furthered that point by getting to him on the night when he was supposed to feel the safest. Suddenly, he felt validated. Running away that night had been the right thing to do. If he hadn't, he would probably not be there to enjoy the honorary dinner. As he felt the horror really sink in, one word came to his lips: "Harvey!"

The older male looked over, and his expression changed almost instantly. Most likely thanks to Mike's expression, Harvey knew something was wrong and began heading over the moment he registered everything. As Harvey made his way through the crowd, Rachel asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Rachel, I need a moment to speak to Harvey," Mike told her. When she didn't move, he added, "Alone."

Rachel seemed a bit put off by the sudden declaration, but she nodded all the same and sauntered off to speak with someone else. The moment she was gone, Harvey was halfway to him with Jessica right on his tail. Suddenly, Mike heard someone whisper in his ear, "All ye, all ye outs in free." Then he felt the presence move on and drift into the crowd.

His heart stopped, and he completely froze where he was. Within seconds, adrenaline shot through his veins. At seeing this, Harvey began rudely shoving through the different cliques of people. He made it to Mike's side several seconds before Jessica. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"They're here," Mike murmured, handing Harvey his napkin. "They're here, and they know where I am. One of them was just behind me, but he snuck away before I could see what he looked like."

A moment later, Jessica joined them. "Is everything alright?" she inquired.

Harvey shook his head and took out his cell for a second. "I'm taking Mike home," he stated. "You need to get this place on lockdown and call the cops. They're here."

Nodding, Jessica turned around and whipped out her cell phone. Meanwhile, Harvey wrapped an arm around Mike's shoulders. He began to lead Mike out of the crowd, leaning in close as if he was sharing confidential information. What he actually said, though, was nothing but. "Ray is en route right now, and I've got you. You're perfectly safe."

Mike nodded slightly, the shakiness from the adrenaline rush slowly going away. As they stepped outside, the car pulled up to the front of the restaurant. Ray didn't have the time to step out before Harvey opened the door and shoved Mike inside. Mike hardly had the time to slide over before Harvey was in the car as well. Before the door even closed, the car began pulling away. Once the door closed, though, Mike felt secure.

"Are you feeling any better?" Harvey asked.

After a moment, Mike managed to answer, "Yeah." There was a long moment of silence before Mike finally continued, "I'm sorry that the night had to end like this."

"Don't worry about it," Harvey responded curtly.

Mike shook his head. "No, I won't," he stated. "I think it's so horrible that you worked so hard on this dinner all week just for it to be ruined by those-"

"Who told you I set up this dinner?" Harvey inquired, cutting Mike off.

Blanching, Mike wasn't sure if he should truthfully answer that. Harvey's piercing stare kept him from lying. "Donna did."

"Of course she did," Harvey muttered, looking out the window. "She doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut half of the time. And I can't even really get mad at her because she controls my schedule."

Mike offered a small smile at that remark. "Next time you set up an honorary dinner, though, you need to not set me with all of the work. I can't imagine that it took you the whole week to set this thing up," he went on.

"There won't be a next time," Harvey stated. "And it actually took longer than that. I had you work all three cases so you would pass out at night so I could continue working on it then."

Surprised, Mike queried, "Why did it take so long?"

"I had a week to plan one of the largest parties our firm has ever thrown," Harvey stated. "Everything from the music to the food to the drink choice was up to me. And then Jessica told me that I had to give a speech to boot, so I had to handle that as well."

Mike realized for the first time just how much work Harvey had put into doing this. Before he got his hopes up, though, he remarked, "You must have wanted to kill Jessica after she ordered you to do that, huh?"

"She didn't order me to do it," Harvey stated quietly. "I volunteered."

Touched, Mike tried to find a way to hide his real feelings. He grasped for straws as he tried to think of something witty to say. Then he sighed. If Harvey was being straight with him, it wasn't okay for him to just blow it off. "Why?" he inquired. "Why would you do it?"

"Well, it got rid of my cases for a week," Harvey started. "And you slept better than ever when you were completely wiped out by work. I think I'll just have to remember that the next time you complain about lack of sleep." Mike looked at Harvey in horror as the older man said this, making Harvey chuckle a bit.

When the car fell silent again, though, Mike asked, "Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's it," Harvey said in a monotone voice. That in and of itself told Mike that that wasn't just all. He would just have to probe again on a later date… or do some investigating of his own.

As a new thought popped into his head, Mike looked over at Harvey and continued, "Thanks for pulling me out of the restaurant like that. I couldn't imagine staying there, knowing that nearly anyone could be after me."

"What do you mean when you say that it could be _nearly_ anyone," Harvey queried.

Mike shrugged and told the other male, "Well, we had fellow employees in there. People I know…" His voice trailed as he saw the look on Harvey's face. "Wait, you don't think that someone _inside_ the firm is doing this, do you?"

"It's now become a huge possibility. No one outside the firm should have known that I was planning this party," Harvey explained. "The fact that they were there proves we have a leak at best. Worst case scenario, though, is that one of the employees is committing espionage. Right now, I'm only sure that you, Jessica, and myself are not behind the attacks. That's why I had Jessica stay behind. She wants to figure out who the mole is just as badly as we do."

Abruptly, Mike asked, "Do you think it's Louis?"

"I almost hope it is because I want that weasel out of my hair," Harvey said crossly. "But Louis is ferociously loyal to the firm, so it's probably safe to say that he's not behind this either."

Groaning, Mike leaned back in his seat. "So now I have to watch my back at the office, too? I was just starting to get comfortable there again!" he nearly yelled, on the verge of hitting something.

"Which is why I want you working in my office starting Monday. You're too accessible in the cubicles, but my office should provide some sort of defense. I'll have Donna keep an eye on who comes and goes while you're there, and I'll be there whenever I have time," Harvey explained, his voice becoming very serious. "You already know my ground rules, so there shouldn't be a problem."

"Yes there is," Mike stated. "I need my computer to work."

Harvey paused for a moment before replying, "I'll have the tech guys bring you up a laptop to use. How does that sound?"

"That works for me," Mike told him. "And I do want to apologize. It seems like I just keep encroaching more and more into your personal space. You hardly have any time alone nowadays, and that must be hard for you considering your…" Mike let his voice trail again as he tried to figure out the proper words to say.

By now, though, he had caught Harvey's attention. "My what?" Harvey pressed.

"Your insatiable sexual appetite," Mike finally finished, unable to come up with a better way to put that.

Luckily, the phrasing struck Harvey as funny. "I've been more sexually repressed than normal, yes, but I'm getting used to it," he replied. "But once this is all over, you're not allowed to pop in to see my condo for at least two months if not longer. I'll be busy every night."

"Naturally," Mike said, forcing a laugh.

Despite his outward appearance, Mike had actually turned cold to the core when he heard Harvey talking about him leaving. He honestly did not want to go. In Harvey's condo, he felt safe… and not only that, but he had gotten used to living with someone. Having Harvey constantly there was a relief. He didn't want to think about the future – a future in which he leaves Harvey's condo for good. But what was he expecting? Harvey had always made it clear that he didn't like having roommates and that he sure as hell didn't want Mike staying there. Just because Harvey started being somewhat nicer doesn't mean that position has changed at all. Mike fell quiet as he tried to push those thoughts back. He needed to enjoy every second now, because he knew it would all be over too quickly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I was SO surprised by just the amount of reviews, and the thought that everyone put into writing them! I thought I was just going to get a bunch of reviews that only were a sentence long, but you guys actually put in a good amount of time! So thanks so much!

I do apologize that this chapter took longer than normal to get out. Unfortunately, my grandmother isn't doing too well. We fear she's nearing the end, so I haven't had the time to write. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter nonetheless!

* * *

><p>Mike twisted around as he felt himself slowly awaken. He subconsciously reached over and found Harvey's side of the bed completely empty. Although that was normal, Mike always felt a little depressed after finding it like that. But what did he expect? Harvey to pull him close and hold him tight until he awoke? His sudden change of thoughts made Mike a bit edgy. When he was living alone, he had never thought of such ridiculous things before. Besides, he was straight… wasn't he? He hadn't found men attractive yet, so why would he start now?<p>

At the same time, a small voice in the back of his mind whispered that he did fid Harvey attractive. But Harvey just had an attractive personality – once someone got around what a cruel jerk he was most of the time. He was rich, powerful, smart, and good-looking to boot. So Mike could easily understand why women were pulled into his charms. What he couldn't understand, however, was why he was being pulled in as well. But that small voice remained there, pointing out how Harvey had done so much for Mike since the beginning. Maybe there was a chance that Harvey did care about him… and in more than just a brotherly or boss-like way. That small hope made Mike's heart do an unexpected leap. With that leap, though, came instant fear. Quickly, Mike pressed that voice to the back of his mind.

Mike slowly opened his eyes and hissed a bit as the bright sun burned them. His eyes watered for a second before adjusting. Glancing at the clock, Mike read that it was just a little past eight. He wanted to go back to sleep more than anything – that is, until he looked through the glass wall. Still in his sleepwear, Harvey was sitting in front of the TV with a controller in his hands. But it wasn't just any controller… it was a _game system controller._ His initial reaction was surprise. He had never thought that Harvey would be the gaming type, but clearly he was wrong. Springing to his feet, Mike headed out of the bedroom to see what game Harvey was playing.

"Did you get enough beauty sleep?" Harvey asked sarcastically, not looking over from the screen.

Inching close, Mike responded mockingly, "Does it look like I did?"

Harvey glanced over for a second and mockingly grimaced. "I don't know if you can get enough beauty sleep to fix that," he jested.

He wanted to see what was on the TV, but the glare was keeping him from seeing anything. All he could hear was a lot of gunshots going off as well as the occasional strange noise or two followed by a yell from one of the characters. Maybe it was _Call of Duty_? Or it could be a _Grand Theft Auto_ game. In fact, most games fell into the "plenty of gunshots" category. Finally, he gave up on trying to see the screen through the glare, and asked, "What are you playing?"

Suddenly, a door on the game closed. Right after, Harvey reclined into the couch and visibly relaxed. "It's called _Left4Dead 2_. Ever heard of it?"

"Isn't it that zombie apocalypse game?" Mike inquired, trying to recall what he could of it.

Harvey gave a slight nod. "More or less. You go through several campaigns with the mission to survive," he responded.

"I never picked you as a gamer," Mike stated.

Shaking his head, Harvey responded, "Why? Because I'm cold and distant? Because I don't ever seem to have free time? Because I'm too handsome? Or maybe too physically fit to have time to spare for videogames?"

"Those are all very good reasons," Mike conceded. "But honestly? It's because you seemed too mature."

This response seemed to surprise Harvey. Looking back at the TV, he said, "I don't normally game just because I don't really have the free time to do so. When I get stressed, though, I pull out this game and play it. Laws prohibit me from mindlessly massacring real people, so this game helps me vent that pent-up anger."

"That's the only reason you won't kill real people? Forget about the moral penalties of it all – as long as there's a law against it then you won't do it?" Mike asked incredulously.

Lightly laughing, Harvey replied, "I just have a hard time picturing a hard moral choice when given the opportunity to make Louis shut up once and for all."

"If they ever making murdering people legal, I'll be on the next Greyhound out of here," Mike stated, a slight chuckle in his voice. He couldn't suppress the concern he felt, though. "What have you been stressed about, though? Did something come up that I don't know about?"

Harvey turned away from the TV and looked at Mike. "Don't worry about me," he stated matter-of-factly. Suddenly, he reached forward and grabbed a second controller. "You could probably use some stress release as well."

"I don't know how to play," Mike stated, somewhat nervous.

Going to the main menu, Harvey responded, "Don't worry about that. It's really easy to learn how all the controls work. And I'll set it on easy so you don't get torn to pieces in the first couple of minutes."

Mike sat down and began searching the remote for a power button. "How do you turn this thing on?" he asked.

"You've never played on an Xbox?" Harvey clarified.

Flushing a bit, Mike scowled and said, "Not all of us have such privileged lives, Harvey."

"You poor, poor kid," Harvey muttered in response, shaking his head. He hit and held the button in the middle. "That will activate the controller."

Mike looked up at the screen and hit select to save the hard drive. Then he was completely surprised when he saw his name come up on the screen. "You made me a profile?" he inquired. He might not have ever owned an Xbox or ever played one, but he wasn't completely naïve when it came to them.

Shrugging, Harvey responded, "I figured that you would wind up playing with me at some point. Don't worry. Your avatar looks much better than you do."

"Gee, thanks," Mike muttered sarcastically as he selected his name.

Harvey suddenly added, "By the way, Nick is my character, so don't touch him."

Harvey set up a campaign called "Dead Center," making sure it was easy. After scanning the other three characters, Mike chose Ellis, whom he instantly started to like the moment the game started. Ellis was just happy-go-lucky all the time. What was there not to like? In an extremely short debriefing, Harvey explained the different controls and kinds of special zombies, which were apparently a lot more kick ass than the common ones. Each one made a peculiar noise, which Mike recognized as the sounds from before, but they were harder than hell to spot most of the time and even harder to kill. By the end of the first campaign, Mike had been tackled by six Chargers, vomited on by eight Boomers, pounced on by three Hunters, spat on by five Spitters, tangled up by four Smokers, and almost killed twice by a Tank. Harvey had enjoyed watch Mike get into all these sticky situations, making sure to always wait a moment before helping him out. But Mike understood what Harvey meant when he said this game was a stress reliever. There was just nothing else like taking an axe to a zombie's head.

"11 percent accuracy?" Harvey laughed as the credit-like statistics rolled up the screen. "Do you have cataracts or something? Can't see the zombies unless they're right in front of you?"

Mike let out a sarcastic laugh. "That's good, coming from the man who will take forever just to make sure he has the perfect aim at one zombie. The only reason your percentage is so high is because you shoot a fourth of the amount of zombies I do, but you make sure to hit most of them," he replied, shoving Harvey in the shoulder a bit.

"Excuses," Harvey muttered, shaking his head.

Looking eagerly at the TV, Mike bounced up and down a bit. "Are we going to play another one?" he inquired, looking back at Harvey eagerly. Harvey was giving him this look that was a mixture of disapproval and amusement. "What? This game is kind of fun."

"Alright then," Harvey responded, selecting a new game. "We'll continue with the next campaign."

The next campaign started, and Mike saw that they were in a traffic jam. As they started to pick stuff up in the game, Mike thought it would be better if they talked. "So I take it you had an amazing childhood," he said.

"What do you mean?" Harvey inquired as his character shot a zombie in the head.

Shrugging, Mike made his character throw a pipe bomb before replying, "Your reactions to my reactions tell me as such." Mike suddenly laughed and added, "Or did you even have a childhood? I wouldn't be surprised if you had been born an adult."

"I did have a childhood, idiot. My childhood was more or less good," Harvey responded. "Quit falling behind. If you can't multitask then you should shut up and play the game."

Quickly, Mike made his character reload and pick up more ammo. "I can multitask. Unlike you, though, I don't know this game like the back of my hand," he responded. Turning around, Ellis shot a couple more zombies before trying to catch up to the others.

"So many excuses today!" Harvey exclaimed, having his character pick off a couple more zombies. There was a long silence between the two as they fought off a horde. Blood and body parts flew all over the place, and Mike was secretly thankful that a zombie apocalypse hadn't actually happened. "What about your childhood?" Harvey suddenly asked, taking Mike completely off guard.

Mike hesitated for a moment, making sure his character shot off the last of the zombies before he answered the older male. "All things considered, it wasn't that bad of a childhood. I mean, we didn't have a lot of money, but we always managed. I always had presents on Christmas and on my birthday, and I never went to bed hungry. So there was plenty to be grateful for… I just sometimes wasn't grateful enough," he honestly replied.

"What do you mean?" Harvey asked as their characters kept moving forward.

Pressing his lips together in distaste for a moment, Mike responded, "I sometimes wanted too much. My dad would always tell me that in order to have everything I ever wanted, all I had to do was want less. But as a kid, I never really understood that. And it wasn't like I wanted outrageous things, in my opinion. I just wanted what every other kid had."

"Such as?" Harvey pressed as his character shot a Boomer.

Mike's character sniped out a Spitter across the road from him. "Let me think," he murmured, shifting through his memories as Ellis took out some more common zombies. He could hear crying coming from the game, and he had his character turn off his flashlight after another character mentioned to do so. "Like wanting to go to a Yankees game with my dad," he finally answered. "When I told him about it, he just told me to want less. I thought maybe he would get us tickets as one of my birthday or Christmas presents. Even asked Santa for a pair one year."

"Did you ever go with him?" Harvey asked. In the meantime, his character was doing his best to shoot a jockey off of one of the computer character's backs.

Shaking his head, Mike replied, "No, we never did. My dad died when I was still pretty young. When he did, though, I lost any chance of ever seeing a game with my 'old man' like the other kids in my class did. After that, I just lost the motivation to see a Yankees game. To this day, I've yet to see a baseball game at Yankee Stadium."

"That's practically a sin in this town," Harvey pointed out.

Mike forced out a laugh when he heard this. "It probably is… unless you're a Mets fan."

"That should be a sin," Harvey stated matter-of-factly, which made Mike smile. Nothing like the Yankee-Mets fan rivalry to take his mind off more heavy things.

Curious, Mike asked, "What would you do if I told you I was a Mets fan? Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"I would fire you, of course," Harvey responded. "And if you tried to sue, I would make sure to get another Yankees fan as the judge." He paused for a moment, eyeing Mike for a second. "You're not an in-the-closet Mets fan, are you?"

Mike debated on whether or not he should give a serious answer. After recalling what Harvey had just said, he decided serious would be a better option. "No, I'm not," he stated.

"Watch out for the car," Harvey warned as they neared the safe room, changing the subject completely. "If you shoot it, it will summon the horde. And don't startle the Witch or you're as good as dead." Suddenly, the ground began to shake on the screen. All the characters began screaming for the others to watch out or yelling that a Tank was coming. "Ignore it and just get to the safe room," Harvey ordered. Slightly panicked, Mike began firing wildly as he headed for the safe room. Unfortunately, he hit the car in his panic. A message flashed across the screen, telling them that the horde had been alerted. A moment later, another message popped up and informed the two of them that Mike had startled the Witch.

Just as Mike's character was outside the safe room, flames came out of nowhere. Ellis backed up, and the Witch attacked a second later. Staring at the screen, Mike turned and looked at Harvey. "Did you seriously just throw a Molotov cocktail at the entrance so I couldn't get in?" he inquired.

"That's what you get for not listening to me," Harvey told him. "You did the two things I told you _not _to do."

A little flustered now, Mike retorted, "It's not like I _meant_ to do it. I panicked and it just sort of happened."

"I'd love to hear that stand up in court," Harvey said, chuckling a bit. "Your Honor, I panicked and the next thing I knew, she was pregnant. But I didn't _mean_ to get her pregnant, so that's why the child isn't technically mine."

Mike scowled at Harvey as one of the computer-controlled characters helped his character off the ground. "Stop applying everything to real-life situations," he snapped. "We're playing a game about a freaking zombie apocalypse! If anything doesn't apply to the real world, it's everything we've been doing for the last hour and a half."

By then, the next level had started. Quickly, the characters shifted through the necessary tasks while they were in the safe house. Mike was reading the walls of the safe house, and he secretly shuddered at the variety of messages. Glancing over, Harvey said, "Pretty creepy, huh?"

"It's like there's really a zombie apocalypse going on," Mike murmured, reading another message. "I can't even imagine the fear and horror that people would have actually felt. Could you imagine not knowing where your friends or family were? Not knowing if they were alive or not?"

Harvey replied, "Did anyone ever tell you that you take things way too seriously sometimes?"

"Say that again, and I'll shoot you," Mike retorted, pouting childishly.

Swiftly, Harvey said, "It won't do anything. We're playing in easy mode, so you can't hurt me when you shoot me."

"Dammit," Mike swore in mocking anger. "Next time, we're playing in a mode where I can shoot you and do some damage."

Harvey jestingly replied, "With how much you shoot us accidentally, you might single-handedly take out the team before the zombies can."

Suddenly, a Jockey jumped on Mike's character. "Son of a-!" Mike cursed. "I hate those freaking things!" Right after one of the other characters killed the Jockey, Mike heard the horn-like call of the Charger. He quickly moved his character behind a carnival game tent. A second later, he saw the Charger sprint across his screen and snag up Harvey's character.

As the Charger began to pound his character into the ground repeatedly, Harvey said, "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Of course I will. Unlike you, I'm not spiteful," Mike answered, pulling out the Molotov cocktail he had been holding onto and chucking it at the Charger. Directly afterwards, he burst into laughter.

Harvey tossed his controller onto the table. "You forget you're playing with your boss," he stated darkly as he headed into the kitchen. "If you thought last week was bad, you're going to die this coming week."

"C'mon, Harvey!" Mike called out in between laughs, making sure to pause the game. "You have to admit that was pretty good. And I did kill the Charger."

As he got a glass of water, Harvey responded, "You also almost killed me."

"_Almost_ is the key word in that statement," Mike pointed out.

Harvey took a drink from his glass. "You use your First Aid to heal me after this, and I'll consider us even," he said.

"You're joking, right?" Mike replied. "We were even the moment I threw the Molotov at you!"

Looking at Mike in a curious fashion, Harvey asked, "Do you really want to challenge the best closer in the entire city?"

Mike debated about it for a moment. "I can't say that I do," he answered.

"Good choice," Harvey told him, nodding slightly in acknowledgement. He headed back over and sat back down on the sofa. "Now let's go kick some zombie ass."

Smiling, Mike resumed the game and pulled out his character's First Aid kit to fulfill the deal. They kept making their way through the game, and Harvey wound up using his First Aid kit on Mike's character later on in the level. Mike didn't say anything, just suppressing a smile. Before Mike knew it, they were finishing up their second campaign. Mike felt as if he and Harvey had bonded by the end of it. Both kept jesting back and forth about different aspects of the game or something stupid that Mike did. This closeness both comforted and worried Mike. As Harvey had just brought up the previous night, Mike wasn't going to be staying there forever. But he was becoming extremely attached to Harvey and his new way of life.

"Kid?" Harvey called out, breaking into Mike's train of thought.

Mike jerked back to the present and looked over to see Harvey staring at him. Was that concern in Harvey's eyes? In an instant, though, it was gone. "Yeah?" Mike asked.

"You up for another campaign?" Harvey asked.

Looking a the TV for a moment, Mike hesitated before answering, "Sure, why not?"

Harvey nodded slightly and began to work though the settings for the next campaign. For a long moment, Mike returned to his thoughts. What was becoming of him? Was he turning gay? Could someone _turn_ gay? He hadn't thought it possible, but he was definitely feeling something for Harvey – something he had never felt before. Breathing slightly increasing, Mike felt fear well up inside of him. What if Harvey didn't care about him like that? Would his feelings go away when he moved out? And what if they didn't?

"You know," Harvey abruptly said, cutting through Mike's thoughts, "this is the most fun I've ever had while playing this game."

Shocked, Mike looked over at Harvey with wide eyes. "Thanks," he replied, although it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"You got quiet, which is normally how you get when you need some form of encouragement," Harvey stated, explaining his actions.

Mike bitterly looked back at the TV. "Don't worry about me," he said, quoting Harvey from earlier. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Which is why we need to play another campaign," Harvey stated, hitting start. "And this time, I'm not saving your ass if you startle the Witch."

Instantly feeling better, Mike snapped teasingly back, "What do you mean when you say _this_ time? You didn't help me last time!"

"Well, at least I warned you this time," Harvey stated, grinning.

Mike smiled and relaxed. He didn't have to figure out everything that moment. Maybe everything would up working itself out in the end. But as it was, Mike felt that all he had to do was enjoy himself. After all, Harvey didn't show that side of him too often. Mike didn't know how much longer he would see it, so he had to take it in while he could. Turning around, Mike's character raised his shotgun and shot Harvey's character in the chest. When no damage was done, Mike said in a mock angry voice, "I told you that I wanted to be able to do damage next time I shot you."

Harvey simply responded, "Should have set up the campaign for yourself then."

Rolling his eyes, Mike turned his character around and headed out to face the hordes of zombies wanting to kill them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Thanks again for the extremely encouraging reviews. I always get so excited when I see one, so thank you for making these last couple of days better. This chapter is over 6,000 words long, which is the most that any chapter will ever be. Take your time with this chapter and enjoy it!

* * *

><p>Mike had started receiving them at the beginning of the workweek. At first, he blew them off because he thought it was just one of the associate douches messing with him. His transition to working in Harvey's office had been neither smooth nor unnoticed. Rumors developed faster than case files about the reasons why. Thankfully, Harvey's reputation for being cut-throat kept most people quiet. Mike would just see the others whisper as he walked by. Naturally, he was just waiting for the harassment to begin. Since this had nothing to do with the night he ran away, the associates had free reign. He just never thought they would go so far.<p>

Honestly, he thought that they would get bored pretty quickly if he just ignored them. However, two days passed without a break, and Mike began to worry. The number was always private when he received the text messages, which were always ominous. For the first one, he was asked if the Liebermann case was going well. He had been working on that case nonstop that Monday, so he just assumed someone had seen the file. The following ones, though, bothered him. They ranged from asking about his bike, which Harvey had placed in a storage unit along with Mike's other important belongings, to if he should be buying that hotdog from the vendor.

By Wednesday, Mike had decided that enough was enough. He debated on whether he should just go straight to Jessica or if he should approach Harvey first. For the last three days, Harvey had been constantly on the move. Mike hardly was able to talk to him for more than a minute at a time. But he could hardly blame the other. It wasn't Harvey that was just busy. The entire firm was constantly moving. Still, Mike knew Harvey would take it personally if he didn't go to the older male first. So he waited until the perfect time to strike: right before Harvey's lunch break.

"We need to talk," Mike declared as soon as Harvey stepped through the door.

Stopping for a moment, Harvey took a deep breath in before saying in his perfect Nick tone, "I don't have time for this, Ellis."

"Your lunch break is coming up, so I know you have time. Let's go to the little place across the street to eat, and I'll tell you what's going on," Mike reasoned, ignoring the reference Harvey now always made when Mike was beginning to annoy him.

Harvey said, "I really don't have time for this. I don't know if I'll even have time for lunch. I have never had to deal with the situation where two of my clients oppose each other, and I have to figure out how to solve it without losing either of them."

"Harvey, this is really important," Mike stated. "So if you could take a moment to step out of the _I_-generated sentences and instead try the _you_-generated ones, that would be great." Harvey gave him a look that told him he was treading on thin ice, so he then added, "And if it helps, I would be more than willing to listen to your problems and try to help."

Holding Mike's gaze for a moment, Harvey hesitated again. "Fine, but you're buying," he gave in after a long pause. "Let's go."

Suddenly, Mike realized this would be the first time he had ever eaten lunch with Harvey. Without saying a thing, Harvey led Mike towards the elevators. A small flutter in his stomach captured Mike's attention. Never before had he ever felt nervous about going to lunch with someone! No, wait… This feeling wasn't nervousness. Strangely like it, sure, but not quite. Mike had experienced enough nervousness while meeting clients at dinners. This feeling was a nervous excitement. Blinking, Mike waited for the elevator doors to open while he tried to calm down. His heart had begun beating rapidly after the realization.

Why was he excited about eating lunch with Harvey? They spent every dinner together for the past two weeks. Still, this was different. The reason why hit Mike like a bolt of lightning: this was more like a date. "You've got to be kidding me!" Mike groaned aloud as Harvey hit the lobby button.

"Forget something, kid?" Harvey asked, looking over at him in confusion.

Flushing, Mike tried to find a good response. "Uh… it's, well," he began, hesitating. Luckily, he had an epiphany. "My bag! Everything I need is in there. I can't pay if I don't have my wallet on me."

"I'll hold the elevator," Harvey said. "Grab it, and be fast about it."

Mike darted out of the elevator, running back to Harvey's office and snatching up his bag. Part of him was surprised he had forgotten it while a different part was grateful. At least he then had an excuse for his sudden outburst. Jogging back, Mike hopped onto the elevator and spun around, taking deep breaths to compensate for the sudden burst of activity.

"Thanks for holding the elevator," he said right after the doors closed.

Looking over at him, Harvey explained, "If I hadn't then I would have just had to wait for you over there."

"Your reputation for being a cold-hearted jerk is still intact," Mike informed the older male. "There's no need to worry."

Neither said anything as they entered the lobby. Not a word was spoken when they crossed the street either. Although the silence was comfortable, Mike knew that it meant that Harvey had a lot on his mind. He debated yet again on whether or not he should turn to Harvey for help. What if Harvey just blew it off? What if he just made fun of Mike? Despite the fact that those two reactions were totally plausible, Mike also recalled that Harvey had never made light of this situation. If it had anything to do with the intruders, Harvey would listen and not jest. He would take Mike's fears seriously. As long as Mike kept repeating that, he wouldn't lose the courage to tell Harvey.

"What would you like to eat, sir?" the cashier inquired, looking at Mike expectantly.

Jumping a bit, Mike looked over at Harvey to see the older male at the pick-up counter. "Could I get a BLT and a cola?" he asked politely, pulling out his wallet.

"Will that be all for you, sir?" she queried.

Mike nodded and answered, "Yes." Looking down, Mike felt a little despair as he realized he only had eight dollars on him. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten to go to the bank… again.

"Sir, your friend paid for your meal," she stated. "You just need to pick it up."

Caught off guard, Mike responded, "My friend?"

"Yes. The man you arrived with," she clarified, motioning towards Harvey.

Mike suddenly understood. "Oh, thanks… but he's not my friend. He's just my boss."

"Well, it was nice of him to pick up the tab. He noticed you were sort of spacing out," she explained, smiling sweetly. "Your order will be right up."

Smiling, Mike said, "Thank you." He took the couple paces needed to in order to get to the pick-up counter. "I thought you ordered me to pay for this meal," Mike noted, looking over at Harvey.

Harvey shrugged. "I'll take it out of your paycheck if it bothers you that much," he stated. "But I don't think you want that."

"Can't say that I do," Mike responded honestly. "But why the change of heart?"

Sighing, Harvey looked out the window at the street. "Do you remember when I gave you that case when the daughter and father were fighting?" he inquired.

Mike blinked as he remembered those couple of days. "That seems forever ago, but I remember it. Why?" he asked.

"You constantly wanted to tell me what was going on. No matter how many times I told you that I didn't care or I didn't want to hear about it, you just kept coming back. Then you almost begged me once, but the fact is that I knew you were just fine as long as you kept chattering away like an idiot. As we came over here, though, you didn't say a word. You're not impatient to tell me what's on your mind or trying to just get everything out before we could even make it to the restaurant – if that's what you can even call this place – so I'm figuring that it's something very important… very personal."

Right after he said that, Harvey reached forward to grab a sandwich, chips, and water that had just been set on the counter. Mike looked over to see his BLT was just about done. "How about you grab a table while I wait for my food?" he suggested, glancing over only to find Harvey heading towards the tables next to the windows. "Of course," Mike muttered under his breath.

A minute later, Mike grabbed his food and drink and headed over to the table Harvey grabbed. They were sitting right in front of the large windows. Unfortunately, today was a dreary day with clouds completely covering the skies. It hadn't rained yet nor did it really look like it was going to, but the weather didn't help Mike with feeling any better. Taking a bite of his sandwich, Mike looked from the street down at the table. He looked at he different lines in the wood, trying to see if he could pick out any pictures. It was something he did as a child when he didn't want to talk or listen to his parents.

"So are you going to tell me what's on your mind or not?" Harvey suddenly asked.

Startled by the sudden question, Mike jerked his head up to look at Harvey. He fidgeted a bit before looking back down at the table. "Someone's been texting me lately," he began, pausing for a moment so Harvey could give him a hard time. When Harvey didn't say anything, though, Mike looked up in surprise. Harvey merely sat across from him, eating his sandwich and patiently waiting for Mike to continue. Relieved, Mike relaxed a bit in his chair. "They've been sending me anonymous text messages, always asking about something personal or something I'm doing at the moment."

As if on cue, Mike's cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Mike flinched as he felt it, his heart rising into his throat. Slowly, he pulled his cell phone out and looked at the text message. It was from an "Unknown Number" and read, "Enjoying the sandwich?" Mike could feel the blood drain from his face.

Suddenly, a hand reached out gently and pulled the phone away. Harvey glanced at the text, and Mike noticed just a hint of darkness enter Harvey's eyes. "What do you want me to do about it?" he inquired.

"Well, I don't know if it's one of the other associates or not," Mike replied. "And I'm not entirely sure how to figure it out if it is or not. And if it's not…"

Harvey raised a hand. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime," he stated, pausing as he pulled out his wallet. He fished through a couple of cards before flinging one across the table to Mike. "I would suggest you invite the associates out for drinks. Not all of the associates can hold their liquor, so I would suggest for you to get them all a bit tipsy and see who talks. One of them will wind up giving away the identity of your harasser."

"And if it isn't any of them?" Mike asked.

Maintaining Mike's gaze, Harvey merely responded, "We'll call the detectives on the case and see if they can't somehow trace the source of the text messages." Mike felt a little bit better as he heard this until Harvey queried, "Is that all?"

Mike flinched as he heard the question, interpreting it as Harvey telling him his worries were petty and/or ridiculous. "Yeah," he muttered. "I guess I just wasted your time, right?"

"That's not what I meant," Harvey responded after swallowing his bite of food. "If there's something else on your mind, you should tell me. I can't have my associate performing anything less than his best when I start talking about my problems."

"Oh," Mike said, taken aback. "Um… yeah, that's it. What's going on with these clients of yours?"

Harvey leaned back in his chair and folded his hands neatly. "The head of a large store chain just died, leaving his two sons the company. Both sons want to take the store in different directions, which has caused a feud. Since I work directly for the store chain, I work for both of the sons. It seems that no matter what I do, though, I will wind up falling out of favor with one," he explained. Mike knew Harvey wasn't naming names because they were in a public place. If anyone else heard what was going on about specific people, they might cause a mess.

"Why don't you have the brothers just split the company in half? Like an anti-merger… or whatever you would call it," Mike suggested.

Frowning, Harvey asked, "How would a _split_ – which is something you should know about since you went to law school – possibly help my situation?"

"Let me put it in Harvey-terms," Mike replied, leaning in. "By suggesting to split the company, you'll find out if the brothers really want to work together or not. If they don't, you double your billables. If they do, they'll be more open to your suggestions later on down the road. You can just hang this suggestion over their head when they start making life hard on you."

Harvey smirked as he listened to Mike explain. "I think being around me all the time has rubbed off on you. You're actually sounding like a pretty decent lawyer," he stated. That was as close to praise as Mike was ever going to get with Harvey, and he couldn't help but beam as he heard it. "So now that we have both of our problems solved," Harvey continued, opening his bag of chips, "I would suggest you get back to work."

"But I still have half of my sandwich left," Mike countered, pointing down at it.

Smiling, Harvey said, "That's the great thing about sandwiches: you can just pick them up and leave with them."

Mike scowled, picked up his sandwich, and left. He wasn't sure why Harvey wanted him gone all of the sudden, but he had to respect his boss's wishes. Besides, Harvey's moods didn't make sense half the time. As soon as Mike got back to the office, he went over to his cubicle and sent out a mass email to all the associates and one lovely paralegal, inviting them to have drinks that night at a bar down the road. He made sure to tell them that the first couple of rounds would be on him. That way, people were sure to come. After the email was sent, Mike went through the rest of his day as normal. He sat in Harvey's office, reading different case files and bustling about the firm when needed. Every now and again, someone would drop by or stop him to confirm they were coming. As the day passed, Mike became more and more excited. Minutes seemed to pass by slowly, but hours were gone in the blink of an eye.

Before he knew it, Harvey stood up and said, "C'mon, kid. Let's go home."

"Actually, I have plans this evening," Mike responded.

Surprised, Harvey asked, "With whom?"

Just then, Rachel came to the office. "Mike, I just wanted to let you know I'll be a couple minutes late. This research is moving by slower than normal," she said, looking apologetic.

"It's no problem!" Mike told her, smiling. "I'll see you when you get there."

Rachel beamed and walked off. Watching her walk away, Harvey said, "I see. Well, don't stay out too late, you hear? We still have to work tomorrow."

"Don't worry," Mike responded before he realized the impression Harvey was under. "And it's not what it looks like-"

"Of course not, kid," Harvey stated sarcastically, grabbing his briefcase to go.

Now worried about Harvey's opinion of him, Mike continued, "No, it really isn't."

"Look, kid, it doesn't matter if you two date or not," Harvey abruptly told him. Something in Harvey's tone said otherwise though. "There are no rules in this firm saying that employees cannot date one another, so there's no reason for you two to be hiding anything. I say if you can get someone who's clearly that far out of your league then go for it."

Mike wasn't sure if that statement should anger him or continue to worry about Harvey's opinion of him. Unfortunately, anger won out. "She's not out of my league," he declared snappily. "Not everyone can go out and have girls just throwing themselves on them, sure, but I've banged girls even prettier than Rachel, so I don't want to hear about her being out of my league."

"Enjoy your night, kid," Harvey curtly replied before heading out the door.

Enraged, Mike slammed his file onto the coffee table and cursed. Why did he have to lose control of himself like that? First of all, Harvey was his boss, meaning that the older male could fire him at any time. Second of all, Mike _liked _Harvey, and he sure as hell didn't want Harvey having the wrong impression. He and Rachel were not dating. Sure, she was pretty… and she seemed rather into him, but Mike just didn't see himself getting into a long-term relationship with her. Just like the crushing realization the night he had had sex with Jenny and realized nothing would come out of that relationship either. They were good friends, and that would just be ruined if they tried to go further.

So why did it bother him so much that Harvey thought he and Rachel were dating? Had it been any other person, Mike wouldn't have really cared. He mulled over this as he headed out of the building and down the street. No matter what, though, things just didn't add up. Once again, the tiny voice sprang up in the back of his mind – the voice he had been trying to smother for quite some time. What if he didn't _like_ Harvey, but _loved_ him instead? It made no sense since Mike had always been into girls, but it was the only reasonable explanation to his reactions to everything. At some point, Mike had actually fallen in love – just not with Rachel or Jenny like everyone thought.

His heart sank as the realization sank in. How was he supposed to tell Harvey? _Could_ he even tell Harvey about it? Wouldn't the older man just reject him on the spot and fire him? Mike couldn't imagine that Harvey would be into him as well. Besides the fact that Harvey was obviously heterosexual, the older male could get any girl he wanted to any night of the week. Shaking his head, Mike headed into the bar with the credit card at his fingertips. Most of the associates were already there, and they perked up when Mike walked in.

"Ross!" Gregory called out, slapping Mike on the back. "I must say, we were all surprised when we got the email. But you know what they say: never look a gift horse in the mouth."

Nodding, Mike forced a smile to his face before motioning to the bartender. "Give us a round of your best beers!"

A chorus of cheers came from the group of men as they heard this. With that, the night commenced. As soon as everyone had their beers, they split into different groups. Mike turned to find Harold telling a story. "So then Louis told me that we were going out for shots! At first, I thought he was joking. I mean, who seriously takes an associate out to get drinks?"

"I don't think Louis really has any friends to celebrate with," Gregory pointed out before taking a swig of his beer. "Did you go with him?"

Frowning, Harold asked, "How could I not? He not only has rank over me, but he's my immediate superior. I couldn't just tell him no. So we went out to this bar, and Louis was buying shot after shot. And I was sort of getting worried about him. I mean, this guy isn't in his prime anymore, you know? Before I knew it, he was trying to get these pretty hot babes to drink shots off his body! You all should have seen it! He wasn't even halfway done unbuttoning his shirt before security threw him out. Honestly, I was pissed because I was so close to getting those babes' digits. If he had just held his own for a little longer, I probably wouldn't be here tonight."

"Don't lie," Mike said, in a good mood after hearing the story. "Those girls would have dumped you weeks ago."

The other associates laughed as they heard this. Somewhat defensive about the retort, Harold replied, "Oh yeah? When's the last time you banged anyone?"

"Come on, man, look at me," Mike responded. "I am a chick magnet. You just can't see it because I have to cover my awesomeness with this suit."

Jumping in, Gregory said, "Alright, Mr. Chick Magnet, if you can get that babe's number then the next round will be on me." He motioned over to a blond sitting at the bar. "And if you don't then the next round is on you."

"Let the master show you how this is done," Mike stated, sucking down the rest of his beer. Heading over to the bar, Mike slid into the seat next to the blonde. "Could I have a scotch on the rocks?" he asked the bartender. The bartender nodded, and a minute later sat Mike's drink in front of him. Despite the fact that he could feel the other associates' eyes burning into the back of his head, Mike remained quiet for a bit and nursed his drink.

Suddenly, the blonde asked, "Did you lose your nerve?"

"I beg your pardon?" Mike queried, taken away by her boldness.

She turned to him and smiled sweetly. "I'm not new to this. I know why a guy sits right next to me when there are several other chairs open. So why don't you pull out whatever stupid line you have for me so I can turn you down and we can move on with our nights?" she stated.

"Actually, would you be willing to do me a favor for another drink?" he asked, desperately wanting Gregory to eat his words.

Frowning, the blonde looked over at him skeptically. "You really think you can buy me?" she asked.

"Not you – just a favor," Mike clarified.

She sighed and asked, "What is it then?"

"Could you write down a number for me? It doesn't even have to be your number, just as long as the guys over there think it is," Mike said. The blonde didn't seem convinced, so he explained, "The guys over there are douchebags, but I have to deal with them every day since they work with me. Every time I mess up, I hear about it for weeks on end even though I never say a word when they screw up. Just once, I want to watch these guys eat their words. If I don't get a number from you, though, I'll have to deal with the humiliation for the rest of the night if not the rest of the month. So please, would you trade me a number for a drink?"

The blond paused, clearly debating about it for a while. After a moment, she sighed and said to the bartender, "I want a Sex on the Beach." He nodded, and Mike quickly pulled out the cash to pay for the drink. As soon as it landed in front of her and he paid, she turned to him and responded, "I don't normally do these kinds of things for strangers, but you seem like an honest guy. And your colleagues seem like douchebags as well, but I have worked with more than my fair share of male colleagues who think they can make advances on me without my consent. So I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and give you a number, alright?"

"Thank you so much," Mike replied, relieved that he wasn't going to have to buy the next round. "You're so compassionate."

Nodding, she responded, "After I drink this beverage, I'll give you a number and leave the bar so they can't get you to harass me further."

"Thanks again," Mike went on, smiling. "I don't know what I would have done if you had rejected me." He paused before continuing, "No, I know exactly what I would have done. I would have paid for the entire next round of drinks for them."

The blond laughed and said, "Well, I'm glad that you could get such a great deal out of this. My name's Rebecca, by the way. Just in case they ask later."

"Rebecca. My name's Mike," Mike responded, holding out his hand.

Rebecca smiled and shook it before turning back to her drink. "So if you don't like them so much, why are you spending the evening with them?" she asked curiously.

"The truth is that even though I don't like them, I need to find a sort of level ground with the. They are my colleagues after all. I'll probably be forced to work with one of them sooner or later. I figured it would be better for the both of us if we didn't just hate each other," Mike explained, quickly hiding up the true intent of the evening. Not like Rebecca wanted or needed to hear about the real reason.

Clearly impressed, Rebecca said, "Well, I wish you the best of luck with that."

"So what do you do for a living?" Mike inquired.

Rebecca looked down at her glass and said, "I work at a temp agency. I like doing temp work since I only have to deal with some people for a certain amount of time. For instance, I can't imagine working with your colleagues over there for more than two weeks without going insane. With a temp agency, though, I know that if I just make it so many more days then I never have to see those people ever again. You, on the other hand, still have tomorrow to deal with."

"If you keep talking like that, I'm going to quit my job and start working at a temp agency," Mike jested, relaxing completely by now.

Laughing, Rebecca stated, "Well, it's all not rainbows and unicorns, but it gets me by. That's what's important." Suddenly, her cell phone buzzed. She grabbed it out of her bag, read the message, and frowned. "I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Mike." Quickly, she grabbed a napkin and pulled a pen out of her bag. Seven digits later, she was done writing and stood up. "Give me a call sometime," she teased, handing him the napkin before downing the rest of her drink. "And good luck."

As soon as she left the bar, the other associates began cheering as Mike brought over the number. Gregory scowled angrily as he ordered the next round of beers. The night moved on smoothly after that point. All the associates began to lighten up after a couple more beers, and Mike did as well. However, none of them seemed to know anything about a prank. Mike kept ordering more alcohol, but all of them were completely oblivious to any prank that someone else might be committing. Although Mike didn't want to admit it, he figured that there was no way one of his fellow associates was just bothering him.

Just as Rachel came in, Mike felt his cell phone buzz. He froze in horror as he felt it, not wanting to read what was just sent. When it buzzed a second time, though, he realized someone was calling him. He grabbed his phone and checked the caller ID to see it was Harvey. A smile lighting his face, Mike answered the phone. "Hey there! What are you doing calling me?" he asked.

"Where are you?" Harvey inquired as Rachel headed over.

Blinking, Mike answered, "What do you mean? I'm following you're advice."

"What advice?" Harvey inquired, sounding a little bit dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Rachel was waiting patiently for Mike to finish his call.

Mike scoffed as he mimicked Harvey's voice, "What advice? The advice you gave me today at lunch! I'm at the bar with the other associates, trying to figure out which one of them is sending me those stupid texts. And you know what? I don't think it is a single one of them. How ridiculous is that?"

"I didn't mean for you to do that tonight! It's a workday, Mike. You cannot come into work tomorrow with a hangover. The partners will destroy you if you do," Harvey told him. "And what about your date with Rachel? Did she ditch you?"

Laughing, Mike replied, "She's standing right in front of me. And we were never going on a date. If you had let me finish, you would have known that I had invited her out for drinks as well. But no, you just had to go storming out of your office with your little briefcase!" Rachel bit back a laugh as she heard this, making Mike smile and giving him a confidence boost.

"How much have you had to drink tonight?" Harvey suddenly inquired.

Mike paused for a moment, closing his eyes and humming as he counted. "Seven beers in the last couple of hours. Why?"

"You're drunk. Tell me where you are so I can have Ray pick you up," Harvey demanded.

Pouting, Mike replied, "I am not drunk! And I don't have to go if I don't want to."

"Mike, this is not up for discussion. Tell me where you are," Harvey reiterated. Mike scowled before bitterly muttering the address. "Good. Ray will be there in fifteen minutes. You better be ready for him when he gets there."

Mike snapped his phone shut, childishly repeating, "You better be ready for him when he gets there. God, Harvey's worse than my grandmother when it comes to rules."

"Do you have to go?" Rachel asked, looking somewhat disappointed.

Mike nodded and said, "Yeah. It's too bad that work kept you, 'cause you missed out a lot of drinking."

"Actually, I just came here to spend some time with you," she confessed, moving in a bit closer. "Lord knows I didn't come to talk with any of the other associate douches."

Grinning, Mike suddenly declared, "I'm going to buy you a beer. That way I didn't completely break my promise when I said that the first found was one me."

Rachel smiled gratefully as Mike stumbled over to the bar and ordered another beer. Uncapping it, the bartender handed it to him before heading down the counter to take care of another customer. Mike staggered back to Rachel, quickly handing it to her so he didn't drop it. "Thanks," she murmured.

"No problem," Mike said. "Did you at least finish up your research?"

She nodded and told him, "It took longer than normal, but I got it all done. I wanted to do my best this time since it was Ms. Pearson herself that asked me to do it. Since I can't be a lawyer, I have to do what I can to impress the partners."

"Don't stretch yourself too thin," Mike warned. "That's what I did, and it wound up getting me chased down the street by some lunatic going through Harvey's files. I wouldn't want the same thing happening to you."

Giggling a bit, Rachel inquired, "What's it like living with him? Is it as unbearable as everyone thinks?"

"Actually, it's sort of nice," Mike informed her, clearly taking her off guard. "First of all, he's filthy rich, so that's a nice change of pace for me. Second of all, he's not just a total douche when we're alone. And finally, did I mention he was really freaking rich?"

Rachel smiled and replied, "No, I don't think you did."

"Ah! Well, let me tell you that I have never ever met a person before who needed an elevator that goes directly to their room," Mike said, lowering his voice to what he thought was a whisper. "He says I'm not allowed to use it, but I'm just waiting for the right day to come. I'm so going to use that puppy before I move out."

Just as Rachel was about to say something, Mike checked his watch. "Crap, I have to get outside or else Harvey will kill me," he groaned.

"It was nice talking with you, Mike. We should do this again sometime, only without the other associates here," she told him, smiling sweetly.

Mike didn't understand the implication entirely. "Of course. I'll talk to you sometime soon about it," he responded, heading toward the front door.

He staggered outside to find it a bit nippy. Fall was approaching; Mike could feel that much. Leaning heavily against the wall outside of the bar, he wrapped his arms around himself as he waited for Ray to come. Exactly five minutes later, a familiar car pulled up and stopped. Without hesitating, Mike slid into the back and slammed the door shut. The car was nice and warm, something Mike was grateful for after standing outside for five minutes.

"Hey, Ray!" he greeted the driver. "Don't you ever get tired of being at Harvey's beck and call at all hours of the day? I mean, night? I mean – oh, you know what I mean. It's just… that would seem rather annoying, don't you think? I wouldn't want to have to pick me up at this time of night. And then he makes you play that awful music all the time. God, that would probably be the worst part of being his private driver."

Turning in the driver's seat, Ray looked back at Mike in amusement. "He told me you were drunk, but I didn't think too much of it. He really meant it, though. How much did you drink?" he asked before turning back at around. A moment later, he started heading for Harvey's condo.

"Not enough if you ask me," Mike told him as he fastened his seatbelt. "But Harvey had to ruin all the fun by sending you to get me. Now, I couldn't just be a jerk to you and refuse to go with you when you got here. It's not your fault Harvey's such a mother hen. How late is it anyway? Did Harvey wake you up with that call? He better be paying you overtime for this. If he's not, tell me. I'll represent you, and we'll get him to."

Ray started laughing heartily. "It's only 10:30, so I cannot say that he woke me up. As for the payment, Harvey promised to give me a sizeable amount tomorrow even though he really didn't have to," he informed the younger male. "Harvey must really care about you, though, to send me out to pick you up and not just a cab."

"Harvey only cares because if anyone found out that I was out drinking tonight then it would have reflected badly on him," Mike countered.

Shrugging one shoulder, Ray replied, "Maybe."

"Put on some good music," Mike told the driver. "Wait, what do you like to listen to?"

Ray laughed and said, "I enjoy the music Harvey has me play. We have similar tastes in music."

"He's not here, Ray," Mike whispered loudly. "You can tell me the truth. He won't hear you."

"That is the truth," Ray told him.

Rolling his eyes, Mike sat back in his seat and pouted. "I don't understand either of you at all," he stated matter-of-factly.

"We're here," Ray said, stopping the car.

Mike looked out to find Harvey's building in front of him. Swiftly, he opened the door and staggered onto the sidewalk. Ray got out of the driver's seat. "Thanks for the ride, but I got it from here."

"I don't know if you can walk more than a few steps without help," Ray explained. "So I just want to make sure you make it to Harvey's condo."

"If you're sure," Mike replied, shrugging.

Both of them headed into the lobby. After Mike stumbled the first time, Ray made sure to keep a firm grip on Mike's arm for the rest of the trip. In the matter of minutes, they were standing outside Harvey's condo. Ray knocked on the door, and it swung open a moment later to show Harvey standing on the other side.

"Thank you so much for this, Ray," he said, grabbing Mike by the other arm and dragging him in. "I'll transfer the money tomorrow."

Smiling, Ray responded, "Don't worry about it, Harvey. He's quite a riot."

"Good night," Harvey said kindly. Ray turned to leave, and Harvey closed the door. He turned and looked at Mike, whom looked up at him sheepishly. "Get ready for bed," he ordered, dragging Mike to the bathroom.

Mike staggered behind Harvey as he was dragged over. "Hey, that hurts," he exclaimed, pain searing up his arm. "Harvey! You're hurting me!"

"Suck it up, you wuss," Harvey snapped.

Baffled, Mike angrily asked, "What's your problem?"

"First of all, you should have told me you were planning to go get drinks. Second of all, I told you to not stay out too late," Harvey informed him.

Mike scoffed as he heard this, picking up his toothbrush. "First of all, I _tried_ to tell you about my plans, but you just left me hanging there. Second of all, it's not even eleven yet," he pointed out as he put toothpaste on it. He started brushing his teeth right after.

"That is late on a work night, or did you forget how early we have to wake up in the mornings?" Harvey inquired somewhat bitterly.

Rolling his eyes, Mike spat into the sink. "You're acting like a mother would," he declared, going to brush again. He stopped before the brush reached his lips and looked over at Harvey. "Would that make you a MILF?" he asked before brushing again.

"Well," Harvey began, actually taking Mike somewhat seriously, "that depends. You have me pinned as a mother, so to complete the MILF status, you would have to want to fuck me." Pausing for a moment, Harvey waited until Mike spat into the sink again before inquiring, "Do you want to fuck me?"

Without thinking, Mike answered, "Hell yeah."

By now, Harvey was clearly amused with the conversation. "Well, that's too bad," he stated.

"I know, I know – because you're straight," Mike responded, rinsing out his brush.

Harvey said, "That's not the reason it's too bad. The reason that it's too bad is because in any hypothetical situation in which we are screwing, I would definitely be the one screwing you. So I guess that would make me a MILSM."

"MILSM?" Mike asked, not following.

"Mother I'd Like to Screw Me," Harvey clarified, fighting back a smile.

Blinking, Mike hesitated as he thought about that sort of situation. "Yeah, that could work," he finally said, much to Harvey's clear surprise. "I'd be willing to put up with the pain, I guess, if it meant we would be together."

"You're smashed," Harvey muttered, shaking his head. "Come on, now. You're going to be feeling this in the morning."

"I am not drunk!" Mike exclaimed as he let Harvey help him to the bedroom.

Harvey smirked and responded, "I'd hate to see you when you were drunk then."

With that, Mike collapsed onto the bed and was asleep probably a minute later.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Mike woke up with a slight headache. He groaned and flipped over only to find Harvey wasn't there anymore. Blinking, he winced as the bright sunlight blinded him, and he cursed Harvey for the umpteenth time for having glass for walls. Suddenly, he remembered that he had to go to work. He shot out of bed as his mind snapped completely awake and wound up stumbling from the sudden movement. Rushing to the kitchen, Mike only calmed down when he saw Harvey, still in his pajamas, standing there and holding a cup of coffee in his hands.

"How are you feeling?" Harvey nearly yelled, making Mike wince at the loud noise.

Scowling, Mike responded, "I'm feeling fine. I would be feeling better if somebody wasn't _yelling_ at me."

"It wouldn't matter how loud I spoke if you hadn't been an idiot yesterday," Harvey informed him matter-of-factly. "By the way, how much do you remember of yesterday? You were pretty drunk, although you tried to deny it."

Mike cautiously asked, "Did I ever tell you that I was just pretending to be drunk?"

"No," Harvey answered. "You were just very insistent that you weren't drunk."

Relieved, Mike replied, "Then I should be able to remember everything. It's only when I claim to be pretending when I'm just shit-faced."

"I'll remember that for the next time you decide that drinking's a good idea despite the fact you can't hold your liquor," Harvey stated somewhat bitterly. There was a long moment of silence between the two, and Mike began moving towards the coffee machine. "So that whole MILF comment you made yesterday was what exactly?" Harvey suddenly inquired, clearly interested.

Mike froze where he was, pulling back his memory of last night. He could remember coming home, Harvey forcing him to get ready for bed, brushing his teeth, and… As everything clicked in his head, Mike could feel his face blanche and his eyes widen. What had he done? Better yet, what was he going to do? Taking in a deep breath, Mike tried to control his fast-beating heart. "Well, I must say that you're an honorable man," he finally said.

"What do you mean?" Harvey asked.

Turning to face the older male, Mike responded, "You gave me several options – a way out in case I second guessed my words."

"What options?" Harvey questioned. It was clear that he was sort of just playing along and actually knew what the options were. He was giving Mike more time to think.

Mike hesitated before answering, "Well, option one is that I confess my feelings to you and risk being rejected or, even worse, fired. Option two would be that I told you that I was actually drunk and didn't know what I was talking about. The third option would be to tell you that I had no idea what you were talking about."

"Which option are you going to take?" Harvey asked, his eyes holding Mike's in their gaze.

Heart pounding in his chest, Mike took a step back. "I-I don't know," he stuttered.

"That's not a very good answer, kid," Harvey informed him.

Mike looked away. "How can I help that, though? You keep yourself at such a distance that I don't know if you're capable of having a lasting relationship," he snapped, a bit defensive. "You talk about not having emotions and about not caring about anyone but yourself, but then you turn around and do something that would signal that you do care. Honestly, it's like you're scared to care about someone besides yourself."

"First of all, I'm Harvey Specter. I'm not scared of anything," Harvey stated. "But in a hypothetical situation in which I would be scared, explain to me why opening yourself up to potentially be rejected in the end isn't a scary thought."

Confidence back, Mike looked back over at Harvey. "Because if we never did anything that scared us then humankind would have never made it anywhere. Every time you take a case, you also take on the possibility of losing it. What you do to prepare for the cases, though, keep you from losing. Relationships require work, and sometimes you're going to lose. That doesn't mean you should just close yourself off to the world. You still have to take the risk."

"Taking on a case isn't the same thing. In a relationship, there are too many unreliable and changing variables," Harvey countered.

Mike scoffed and answered, "Like there aren't unreliable and changing variables in a case? You were the one who told me about all the obstacles that someone might run into while on a case. Try again."

"One cannot have complete control in the relationship," Harvey stated. He paused a moment before adding, "At least, not without it being seen as abusive."

Rolling his eyes, Mike replied, "Just like you can't control what your opponent is going to do. Only this time, two people are working for the same thing. The person you're with won't be looking for ways to hurt you, Harvey. There are some people who wind up doing so in the end, but that doesn't mean everyone's like that. You can't just keep your emotions so bottled up. Or else there's going to come a point when they all just explode."

"That point will never come," Harvey told him.

Mike frowned. "Why? Because you're Harvey Specter?" he asked sarcastically.

"That's correct," Harvey replied.

Taking in a deep breath, Mike said, "If there's one thing I learned about life, it's that you can't control everything. Trust me. I would have figured out a way to do it if it were possible. Sometimes you have to leave things up to chance or fate or whatever you want to call it. If you're not willing to do that, Harvey, you're never going to be happy. Everyone's been hurt before, but we pick ourselves up from the floor, brush ourselves off, and move on with life."

There was a long moment of silence between the two. For Mike, the silence came as an old friend but at an awkward time. Shifting uncomfortably, Mike glanced over at the coffee pot. He wondered if it would be strange if he poured himself a cup at this point of time. Suddenly, Harvey asked, "Why?"

Jumping, Mike spun around and queried, "Why what?"

"Why do you believe you've fallen in love with me?" he bluntly inquired.

Mike paused for a moment, taking his time to think this answer through. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "I won't lie to you. For as long as I can remember, I've always been into women. The fact that I could even consider having this relationship with you makes no sense to me at all. And it doesn't help that you're basically an asshole to me every time you possibly can be. But I know that's not your only side, Harvey. There's that other side to you – you know, the side that cares? – and it's come out enough the last couple of weeks to make me realize that my emotions ran deeper than just friendship."

"I don't make a good boyfriend," Harvey stated. "I've had enough girlfriends to figure that out."

Laughing nervously, Mike responded, "You're talking like you're not straight and we'd actually have a chance." He shook his head, waiting for Harvey to make some witty comment. None came, and Mike looked over at Harvey to see the older male staring down at his coffee cup. "You _are_ straight, right?" Mike clarified.

"Of course I am!" Harvey snapped, making Mike flinch. He let out a sigh and looked at the cabinets. "I've always been interested in women. I'm definitely _not_ gay."

Mike felt his heart slowly break as he heard this. The pain was an aching one, something he had never experienced before in such intensity. Abruptly, tears came to his eyes. Mike sucked in a gasping breath and ducked his head to hide them. "See? You have nothing to worry about. I'll just talk to Ms. Pearson about getting that hotel room. I'll just make something up. Like I don't really feel comfortable mooching off my boss anymore, or that I feel like I'm intruding on your life. Or if that's not self-centered enough, I could tell her that you're ruining my life. Or maybe just beg-"

Suddenly, Mike felt a hand grab his chin. His head was jerked up, and a pair of warm lips pressed against his own. Heart thumping harshly in his chest, Mike felt his eyes widen as he realized that Harvey was actually _kissing_ him. Relaxing after a moment, Mike closed his eyes and kissed back. It was after that point when the kiss turned from sweet to hungry. Nipping impatiently at Mike's bottom lip, Harvey wrapped one arm around Mike's waist and the other diagonal up his back. Mike didn't think, just reacted. He opened his mouth, and their tongues instantly began to fight for dominance. Although Mike put up a great effort, Harvey overtook him and took his damn time exploring Mike's mouth to further his point. Mike remained submissive throughout the entire ordeal, although the thought of biting Harvey's tongue did cross his mind a couple of times. Once Harvey was satisfied, he retracted. The kiss turned sweet once more before Harvey pulled back. Following a bit, Mike tried to make the kiss linger just a little longer. Their lips finally separated, and Mike was left breathless and with a tingling sensation throughout his lips.

Once Mike caught his breath, he inquired, "Weren't you just telling me about how you were straight?"

"And I am," Harvey clarified. After a second, he muttered, "Except when it comes to you."

Mike was still completely blown away by what had just happened. "How long-?" he started to ask.

"It doesn't matter how long," Harvey told him, cutting him off completely. "All that matters is that I am."

Still confused, Mike inquired, "So what does this mean?"

"I'm not even entirely sure what this means yet," Harvey admitted. "But I'll tell you right now that I'm not going to be an easy man to date."

Mike shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "What do you mean?" he asked, now nervous. He was no longer sure exactly what he was getting himself into.

"I heard it enough from my exes to know it's probably true," Harvey stated, smirking slightly. When Mike looked at him somewhat scared, Harvey continued, "I'm a possessive person, Mike. If something is mine then it's completely mine. I don't like to share at all, and it only gets worse when I actually care about whatever it might be."

Missing the point, Mike responded, "What more could you possibly want from me? I gave up by childhood best friend in order to work for you. And there's no way that you want me to stop contacting my grandmother." Mike hesitated, horror washing over him. "You don't mean to tell me that I can't see my grandmother anymore, right?"

"Of course that's not what I mean," Harvey snapped, shaking his head in frustration. "But you're going to have to end things with Rachel. Today."

Mike was dumbfounded by that declaration. "Rachel's just my friend, Harvey," he said. "There's seriously nothing going on there that would be considered as more than just a friendship."

"Well, she's looking for more than just a friendship with you," Harvey stated, his voice almost a growl. "So get that straightened up."

Unsure of what to really say, Mike clarified, "Does this mean that I can't work with her anymore?"

"I'm not so barbaric, Mike. When you have or need to work with her, you may. But keep that relationship completely platonic. If you start flirting with her, I don't know what I might do," Harvey warned. "Bottled up emotions and all."

Mike scowled and responded, "You told me that you were Harvey Specter. You didn't ever let your bottled emotions explode."

"I've never had something push me beyond that point yet. Don't push to be the first," Harvey informed him matter-of-factly. He then rinsed out his coffee cup and placed it into the dishwasher. "We'll be leaving in fifteen minutes." And with that, Harvey Specter headed out of the kitchen. "And if you think this changes anything at work, you're dead wrong."

Mike wanted to stand there and try to figure out everything that just happened. The main question on his mind was: were they now dating? Harvey hadn't asked – and neither had Mike – nor had anything been confirmed. And yet Harvey had spoken to him as if they were dating. "Fourteen minutes!" Harvey yelled from the bedroom, making Mike jump. He was reminded that he didn't have the time to figure out what just happened. That would have to come later. Glancing at the coffee pot, Mike debated whether or not he had enough time to drink a cup. He decided against it and headed for the closet. By the time he got into the bedroom, Harvey was almost completely dressed.

"How do you manage to move so fast?" Mike asked as he headed into the walk-in closet.

Harvey responded, "The really mystifying question is how you manage to move so slow."

"Maybe compared to you, but I move at a normal rate for a man," Mike said as he found the suit he wanted to wear today.

Amusement clear in his voice, Harvey responded, "Are you kidding me? Donna can get ready in the morning faster than you. And she's always on time."

"Very funny," Mike said as he tucked in his shirt. "But at least I don't turn into a banshee with claws once a month. Have you ever gotten on her bad side when she was going through that?"

Harvey paused for a moment before answering, "Once. It was something I will never forget nor ever repeat."

"What happened?" Mike asked, stumbling out of the closet as he put on his tie. His interest had been captured instantaneously.

Harvey said, "She thought I forgot it was her birthday."

"Ouch," Mike said, wincing a bit.

Nodding a bit, Harvey continued, "I kept playing dumb because I was waiting for the theater tickets I ordered to arrive. She thought I had really forgotten, and she wound up ripping me a new one. Later that day, I had flowers and the tickets delivered to her desk. She wound up apologizing, but I had already seen a glimpse of the wrath that is PMS. When I realize that it's coming back around, I'll give her less work and sometimes sick her on Louis. He never knows what to do with women, especially when they're like that."

"I can only imagine," Mike responded, laughing. "I would pay to see that at some point."

Harvey smirked and said, "The next time she seems to be getting a bit more irritable, I'll make sure to send her when Louis is harassing the associates."

"Do you think I'll be out of your office by then?" Mike asked, not sure how he felt about that either.

Shrugging, Harvey replied, "We'll know in good time. Speaking of which, the detectives will be coming to the office today in order to retrieve your cell phone and ask us a few more questions."

"Oh, joy," Mike muttered sarcastically as he pulled the jacket on. "Have they even _done_ anything to solve this case?"

Harvey responded, "They've done a lot in an attempt to solve this case. They've gone through the security footage several times, asked some of the employees questions, and even went to question other firms and some of our clients. Nothing they can go on has come up, though."

"That's just fantastic," Mike sarcastically said, buttoning the last button. "I have two guys coming after me almost 24/7, and they have no idea who it could even possibly be."

As he headed towards the front door, Harvey called back, "You're safe here, kid. You've got nothing to worry about."

Mike didn't say anything, just followed Harvey out of the room. As usual, Ray was waiting outside for them when they got to the lobby. Heading around the car, Mike was about to step into the lane in order to get in when a voice yelled out his name in alarm. He felt someone grab the back of his collar, which sent panic running through his mind. Flashes of that night went through his mind, and Mike felt bile rising in his throat. Harshly, he twisted away, forcing whoever had him to let go. As he instinctively bolted for the street, though, a hand grabbed his arm, and he was yanked around. When he was pressed into a larger figure, Mike began to come back to the present.

"Harvey?" he inquired, looking up to see the older male staring down at him. His heart began to slow as he realized that he was safe.

Harvey let Mike completely go once he realized that the younger male wasn't panicking anymore. Lowering his voice, Harvey asked, "Are you alright?"

"What just happened?" Mike responded, not answering.

Looking out to the street, Harvey answered, "A car swerved into this lane and almost hit you. If I hadn't grabbed you, you would've been hit. Didn't you notice it?"

"No," Mike honestly said. "Sorry about reacting so violently. It's just… well, that night – you know… that guy almost grabbed the back of my collar… and you see – when you…" Mike's voice trailed off as he felt the images reemerge. He'd been close to being killed that night. And again today.

Turning, Harvey asked, "Ray, did you see what kind of car it was?"

"Yes, sir," Ray replied, "but I didn't get the license plate number."

Harvey shook his head. "You'll need to come up with us and talk to the detectives then. Any information helps," he stated. Ray nodded slightly in acknowledgement. With that, Harvey placed a hand on the opened door and motioned towards the car with his other one. "Slide in, kid."

Sliding across the seat, Mike let out a deep breath as the last of the adrenaline jitters wore off. Harvey slid in right after him. "How close was it?" Mike asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"If I had been a second slower, you would have been hit," Harvey answered honestly, not looking over.

Mike looked out the window as he tried to force himself to calm down. "Do you think it's-?" he started to ask.

"Yes," Harvey responded, cutting him off. "I do."

Letting out another large breath, Mike nodded and closed his eyes. One second; that's all the time Harvey had to completely change both of their futures. "I never thought of death that way before," he suddenly commented.

"What do you mean?" Harvey inquired.

Mike shrugged, keeping his eyes closed. "That death is just a second's difference from life," he stated.

"Don't think about it too much, kid. As long as I'm here, your time won't come. I don't want to have to go out hunting for a new associate after all," Harvey stated matter-of-factly.

Forcing himself to relax, Mike slid back in his seat and breathed deeply. It was true that he had almost been killed, but he hadn't been. _That_ was what was important, and it would do him no good to think about the "what if"s. Still, Mike couldn't help but think about those things. He decided then and there that he would visit his grandmother later that night and tell her how much he loved her. As long as he could stay, Mike would remain there and just talk with her. It had been too long since they had just chatted.

"Harvey?" Mike called out quietly.

"What is it, kid?" Harvey asked, not looking up from the file on his lap.

"If I die," Mike started to say.

Sharply, Harvey snapped, "Don't talk like that. You're not going to die, do you understand me? Just let everything go."

"Just let me finish," Mike replied, his voice just as sharp. "_If_ something were to happen to me, promise me that you'll take care of my grandmother?"

Harvey looked over at Mike. Instantly, Mike could tell that Harvey was debating between blowing Mike's comment off in order to keep his reputation intact or to give in since it was clearly a serious subject. "I promise," he stated after a long minute. "But nothing's going to happen to you, you hear?"

"I understand," Mike responded, relaxing as he heard this. "Thanks," he added, his voice barely above a whisper.

The car stopped outside the building a couple minutes later. Because he sure as hell wasn't going to try his luck twice, Mike waited until Harvey got out of the car before sliding out after him. The silence lingered between them as they entered the building and headed to the appropriate floor. Once they stepped out of the elevator, Harvey headed towards his office. Mike followed close behind until he was abruptly cut off.

"Rachel!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Smiling, Rachel inquired, "Did you think about my offer last night at all?"

"Offer?" Mike asked, confused for a second. As he remembered what she was saying, Mike replied, "Oh, that. I did think about it, Rachel, and I really need to talk to you about-"

"Mike," Harvey called out, turning slightly in the doorway to look at the younger man. "Come."

Mike glared at Harvey before replying, "Woof!" As he started walking towards the office, he turned back and said, "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Okay!" Rachel called back, clearly oblivious about what Mike was really going to talk to her about.

As soon as the office door was closed, Mike spun on his heels and hissed, "Come? Am I your dog now?"

"There's a reason I called you a puppy," Harvey informed him. "Haven't you caught on yet?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "You first told me to make it clear to Rachel that I wasn't interested in her, but the moment I go to do so, you pull me away like I was disobeying. You really need to make up your mind, Harvey."

"I didn't need a huge scene just before the detectives came," Harvey stated. "And trust me when I tell you that girls do not like being shot down."

Throwing his bag onto the opposing chair, Mike responded, "I know, Harvey. Believe it or not, I have had girlfriends before as well as had to break a heart or two."

"And how many of these girls could other people actually see?" Harvey jested, sitting back in his seat.

Mike bit his tongue as he tried to control himself. This was work, which meant that everything was going to be just like normal. "At least I didn't have to take ten minutes to inflate my girlfriend before every date," he countered childishly.

Harvey was about to say something when Donna's voice cut in through the phone, "If you two are done comparing previous girlfriends, the detectives are here."

"Send them in," Harvey told her.

Looking over, Mike glanced outside as he saw two detectives open the door. The first one, who was the one to open the door, was average height with dark brown, almost black curly hair. Next to him was a petite female with straight dirty blond hair. Both wore coats instead of uniforms, but their guns flashed a couple times just to remind Mike that they were dangerous. As soon as the female was through the door, the male entered and let the door close behind them.

"My name is Detective D'Onofrio, and this is my partner, Detective Erbe," the male stated, smiling at the two males.

Harvey replied, "We've already met, detectives, but this is my associate, Mike Ross. He's the one currently being harassed."

"Mr. Ross," Detective D'Onofrio acknowledged, nodding his head a bit. "I promise you that we're doing everything we can to figure out who's behind this. I understand that you've been receiving threats via cell phone?"

Nodding, Mike pulled out his cell. "It just started at the beginning of the week. All the text messages are anonymous and always ask either personal questions or ask about something I'm doing at the moment."

"We'll have to confiscate your phone as evidence. Once the case is closed, we'll return it to you. I hope you understand," Detective Erbe told Mike, her voice sweet and sympathetic.

As Mike half-heartedly handed his phone over to her, Detective D'Onofrio inquired, "Do you mind if we ask you both a couple questions?"

"It's no problem at all," Harvey replied for the both of them.

Detective Erbe sat on the open chair, and Detective D'Onofrio sat on the open couch. Sitting back down in his chair, Mike tried to relax. "Do you have any enemies, Mr. Ross?" Detective D'Onofrio asked.

"You mean besides all the associates who want to see me gone so they have a better chance at getting partner?" Mike inquired. "No one that I can think of."

As Detective Erbe jotted this down, Detective D'Onofrio pressed, "No one's ever threatened you before?"

Mike thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "I can't say so," he told them.

"Maybe your parents?" he continued, pushing a bit further.

Mike frowned as the question registered in his mind. "Not that I can recall."

"Then could you tell us about your parents' accident?" Detective D'Onofrio suddenly asked.

Tensing, Mike pressed his lips firmly together. "What does that have to do with any of this?" he snapped, tightening his hands into fists.

"They were in a car crash, were they not?" the detective went on, leaning forward slightly.

Mike quickly rose from his seat. "Why do I have to confirm something you already know? You can just go back into the files and see exactly what the reports say," he snarled, beginning to pace back and forth.

"We just want to see if maybe there was a link to that event," Detective Erbe told him in her sweet voice.

"You were in the car with them, is that correct?" Detective D'Onofrio inquired, not missing even a beat. Stopping where he was, Mike felt overwhelmed. He hadn't brought those memories back up in an extremely long time. Torn, he felt tears return to his eyes. "Please answer the question, Mr. Ross. Were you in the vehicle when your parents crashed?"

Closing his eyes, Mike allowed one tear to fall before answering in a croaky voice, "Yes."

"You never told the officers that day what happened, Mr. Ross. We need to know so we can tell if it connects with what's currently happening to you," Detective D'Onofrio stated, his voice now soft and friendly.

Mike shook his head. "I can't," he said.

"You must," the detective replied.

"No, he doesn't," Harvey suddenly stated, rising from his seat. "I've seen enough of this circus show to know where this is going. Because you can't figure out what's going on in this case, you're trying to close another one just to look good. What you detectives have forgotten was that these intruders originally broke into the offices in order to search through my things. So you have no basis for this questioning. You have what you came here for, and Mike has been more than generous with answering your questions. I now request that you leave so we can get back to work."

Both detectives seemed shocked by this sudden declaration. Secretly, Mike was relieved that Harvey decided to step in. "We'll get back to you if the cell phone leads to anything," Detective D'Onofrio stated, rising from the seat. "We'll let ourselves out."

Harvey nodded in acknowledgement before sitting back down and opening a file. As soon as the detectives left the room, Mike let out a small whimper in an attempt to keep the tears back. He hadn't thought about that night in detail for a long time… and with good reason. After all, his mind served as a curse as well. He could remember that car ride, almost every minute of it. He could still remember "Piano Man" playing on the radio, and every word his parents said and when they said it. But the worst part was remembering the crash and how his parents looked after it. Remembering being told that he was now an orphan. In just one car ride, Mike had lost his whole world.

"Go wash your face," Harvey said. "Get a hold of yourself, and do it soon. You still need to break up with Rachel as well as attend a client meeting today." Letting out a shuddering breath, Mike nodded and headed towards the door. Just as he was about to open it, Harvey called out, "And if you ever do want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen. Just make sure it's not during the work hours."

With that, Mike was able to leave the office with the shadow of a small smile on his face.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** The inspiration for part of the scene in this story comes from _LaylaBinx_'s "Alphabet Suits" (Chapter 2). Anyone who hasn't read that two-shot, I would totally suggest it. It makes me smile, and there are two parts - one for Gen and one for Slash. So a big THANK YOU goes out to _LaylaBinx_ for giving me permission to use her idea in my story.

* * *

><p><em>"It's nine o'clock on a Saturday. The regular crowd shuffles in. There's an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin," Billy Joel began to sing gently in the background.<em>

_Mike, who had always loved this song, called out, "Mommy, turn it up! Turn it up!"_

_Mrs. Ross leaned forward and went to turn it up when Mr. Ross hit her hand away. "What do you think you're doing? You're encouraging him to be disrespectful to his elders," he responded harshly._

_"Son, can you play me a memory? I'm not really sure how it goes!" Billy Joel continued to sing, completely obvious to the argument about to break out._

_"Honestly, he doesn't always have to say 'please' when he asks something," Mrs. Ross countered. "Lord knows that our child is more respectful than most others."_

_Mr. Ross stated, "How other children act does not concern me in the least, but I cannot have our son embarrassing us at public events."_

_"Sing us a song! You're the piano man. Sing us a song tonight," Billy Joel continued to sing._

_Sighing, Mrs. Ross turned around and inquired, "What's the magic word, Mikey?"_

_"Please?" Mike added, still hoping they would turn it up in time for his favorite part._

_"The complete sentence, Michael," Mr. Ross stated in a disapproving voice._

_Mike pouted and asked, "Please turn up the music?"_

_"That's still informal," Mr. Ross pointed out._

_Now extremely frustrated, Mike snapped, "Would you please turn up the music?"_

_"I don't like that tone, little man!" Mr. Ross warned._

_"Honestly, just let it go," Mrs. Ross stated. "He's just a child! He doesn't have to know what formality is yet."_

_Mr. Ross shook his head. "This dinner could make it or break it for my career," he responded. "We already left late because of him, so I sure as hell don't want him messing everything up even more."_

_"And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke, but there's some place he'd rather be," Billy Joel sang._

_Bouncing up and down impatiently, Mike just wanted to be able to hear the song better. "Mommy, would you please, please turn the song up?" Mike asked again._

_Mrs. Ross turned back to look at her son, smiled sweetly, and nodded. Just as she turned back around to turn the volume up, Mike saw a car in the opposing lane swerve into their lane. Cursing, Mr. Ross jerked the wheel in order to avoid having an accident. When he did that, though, the car went off the road. Before he could regain control of the car, they hit an embankment. Horror ran through Mike's blood as his world began to spin. Screams of pain and fear rang out through the air amid the sound of crunching metal and breaking glass. After what seemed to be forever, the car came to a stop. Mike's head was still swimming for a moment after he realized the car had stopped moving._

_"…as the businessmen slowly get stoned. Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone!" Bill Joel sang out through the static._

_Cautiously, Mike called out, "Mommy? Daddy?"_

_Only silence answered him. Heart pounding in his throat, Mike unsnapped his seatbelt and leaned forward. It looked like two pillows had popped out of the car, and Mike was bitter for a second that his parents hid those pillows from him even when he told them he was tired. When he called out again and got no answer, though, his anger changed to concern. He leaned forward and saw something red on the pillows that his parents' heads were on. Gently, he shook his mother's shoulders. Her head shifted on the pillow, revealing her face for him to see. Her nose was completely crooked, and there were burn marks where the seatbelt had been. Falling mainly from her nose, blood covered the lower half of her face. Her face was bruised here and there, but Mike noticed something wrong with her neck. It appeared to be bulging out awkwardly on one side._

"Shush, Mike," a familiar and calming voice drifted into the dream. "It's alright. You're okay. I'm right here."

_"And you've got us feelin' alright!" Billy Joel sang out._

_Frozen in terror, Mike felt tears streaming down his face as he realized that his mother was not okay. "Daddy?" he then cried out, turning around to face his father. "Daddy, wake up!"_

"It's just a dream, Mike," the voice repeated. "You're perfectly safe. You just need to wake up."

_Mike was torn. Part of him knew his father had to be okay. There was no way that his dad could die. Another part wasn't so sure of that, though. Hand outstretched, Mike remained frozen where he was. Inside, he was fighting himself. Wake his dad up or face the truth? As the song ended, Mike gently shook his father._

"Mike!" a baritone voice called out.

Waking up, Mike felt the tears on his face. As he focused on his surroundings, he found his arms pinned against his chest. Harvey had two strong arms wrapped around him, and Mike was pulled as close as he possibly could be. Shuddering, Mike burst into huge sobs as he felt the repressed memories come to life all over again. He unwrapped his arms and clung hard onto Harvey as sadness overwhelmed him.

"Kiddo, it's alright," Harvey whispered, holding Mike tighter.

Head buried in Harvey's chest, Mike merely kept crying as he fiercely grabbed Harvey's shirt like it was an anchor. Harvey never said a word throughout the entire time, just kept holding onto Mike. As time passed, Mike's sobbing became shudders, which turned into quivers after some more time passed. Lord knows how much time passed before the quivers turned into trembles every now and again. Finally, Mike let out a shuddering breath before the tension left his body. He was tired and just wanted to pass out and forget everything. Still, he didn't really feel like he could do that. Not after everything Harvey had just done for him… for the third night in a row.

"Did I hit you this time?" Mike asked, his voice still croaky and raw.

Shaking his head, Harvey responded, "I woke up before you could get me in the balls again."

"I've apologized for that twenty too many times," Mike noted, knowing Harvey was just trying to get him in a better mood.

Harvey chuckled. "Said the guy who didn't suddenly get nailed in the balls one night," he stated. "Every time you shift nowadays, I stir right awake as a precaution."

"Think of it as payback for every time I pulled an all-nighter because you didn't feel up to doing the work," Mike countered.

Shaking his head slightly, Harvey replied, "Then you better watch out. If you get me again then I'll be _owing_ you all-nighters."

A silence fell over the room for a long couple of minutes. Mike was grateful that Harvey wasn't pressing him for answers. After all, he could remember the first night had the reoccurring nightmare. In a panic, Mike had wound up kneeing Harvey in the balls before waking up. The next night, Harvey figured out how to immobilize Mike the moment the nightmare started. Mike hated having the nightmares again. He never wanted to seem weak in front of Harvey, but it seemed like he could never really be strong in front of the older male.

"You already know how my parents died," Mike murmured, his face still buried in Harvey's chest. He didn't care if that caused his voice to be muffled. Honestly, he just didn't think that he would be able to look at the older male as he said this. "I was in the car with them when it happened, and I remember every little detail. But I just – I never had the strength to talk about it to anyone. Even my grandmother has to go off police reports. When I was younger, I thought that everything would eventually just go away, you know? I dealt with the nightmares for months afterwards, all with the hope that I would someday never dream about them again. When the police stopped pursuing the case, I began to dream about it less and less. People learned not to bring it up, and I managed to move on with my life."

Harvey half-heartedly jested, "Should we sue the detectives for emotional distress?"

"And give them the opportunity to have an entire trial about my parents' accident because that's what brought on the emotional stress?" Mike responded, not in the mood for joking. "No thank you."

Suddenly, Mike felt Harvey stroke his hair. "Try to get some sleep, alright? We don't have to work today, so we'll sleep in until we can't sleep any longer," Harvey murmured.

Mike tried to nestle closer only to find it impossible. "You know why we were traveling that night?" he asked rhetorically. Of course, Harvey didn't answer. "We were going out that night to a formal dinner. My father had this huge opportunity to impress some rich guys and earn some real money. Although he didn't want to take me, my mother insisted that bringing me there would help my father. If they rejected him with his kid standing next to him, they would feel like assholes for the rest of their lives." Out of nowhere, Mike felt a knot form in his throat. He had always come to the verge of saying this, but never had he actually verbally stated it. Honestly, he always felt like something would change in him if he did.

"We don't have to talk about this tonight," Harvey whispered.

Shaking his head, Mike responded, "If I don't talk about this right now, I never will."

"Take your time," Harvey told him gently.

Mike took in a deep breath. "I was young when this happened, and I didn't want to go. So I threw a fit, but they dragged me along anyway. Because I threw that fit, though, I made us late, which made my dad go well over the speed limit," he said. The knot grew tighter as guilt emerged from its hiding place. Gasping, Mike cried out, "I sometimes wonder if I hadn't been so selfish if we wouldn't have crashed!"

That was it. Waves of guilt washed over him as he once again tried to come to the terms of being his parents' murderer. Harshly, he jerked away from Harvey and sprung out of the bed. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he had to do something. He had to be punished. When he was little, he was too scared to talk to the police. He thought they would put him in jail when they found out. Later on in life, he realized that wouldn't have happened. But he still felt like he deserved something – something to atone for his actions. If only… _If only! _Those words haunted him day after day. Letting out a guttural yell, Mike went to punch the wall next to him. Before his arm made it, though, a stronger force grabbed it.

"Let me go!" Mike screamed out, struggling to get away.

Harvey replied firmly, "Why? So you can damage my house?"

"Then let me at least hurt myself!" Mike yelled.

Harvey's grip tightened on Mike's arm as he heard this. "You have even less of a chance of me allowing you to do that than me allowing you to destroy my house," he stated matter-of-factly

Deflating, Mike let the tension out of his body. Harvey didn't release his arm, but he didn't force Mike to move either. Defeated, Mike turned and said, "I'm the one guilty of my parent's deaths. I'm a murderer."

"The only thing you're guilty of is being an idiot," Harvey replied. "You're not at fault at all for what happened that day, Mike. First of all, you were just a child. You didn't understand how important everything was. Second of all, your dad didn't _have_ to drive over the speed limit. He could have just been a couple minutes late to the meeting. Would it have made a bad impression? Probably. But rich men probably would have let it go once they saw you." He paused for a moment. "You _were_ a cute kid, right?"

Mike let out a forced and bitter laugh. "Everyone sure said so," he responded. "But you know how that is. People feel obligated to say that kind of stuff."

"I sure as hell don't," Harvey informed him. "Everyone who said it about me was being honest. I was the cutest kid anyone had ever seen… until I opened my mouth."

Shaking his head, Mike asked, "Wow. You were a smartass even then?"

"I had to be," Harvey simply replied, shrugging a bit. "You wouldn't understand."

Mike suddenly inquired, "Why don't you talk to your family, Harvey? You don't seem to have any pictures of them, and you have never talked about them before."

"There are some things that I'm only willing to talk to you about, Mike," Harvey responded. "That is not one of them."

Mike understood and nodded his head in acknowledgement. Once more, a silence enveloped the two. Uncomfortable, Mike shifted his weight from one foot to another. Even Harvey wasn't taking the silence too well. The older man wasn't looking directly at Mike, one of the main indicators of his uneasiness. Slowly, Mike felt the memory pull at the back of his mind. He knew that he needed to get everything off his chest. If there was anyone in the world who would take him seriously, Harvey Specter was that man. Maybe he wouldn't understand, but he would be honest with Mike. Above all else, Mike needed that honesty.

"I'm about to tell you something that I could never tell anyone else," Mike stated. "Not the police, not my grandmother – no one."

Nodding slightly, Harvey responded, "You have my complete attention."

Feeling the raw grief return to the forefront of his mind, Mike fought with his emotions in order to get everything out. He knew he needed this; his gut told him that it was important that at least Harvey understood. If anyone would know how to react to the story, it would be Harvey. But the real question was: how did he complete the task? Slowly, his brain began to numb. It did it automatically, making it so that it was as if Mike was seeing the accident through someone else's eyes. As if the accident hadn't happened to him. Finally ready, he explained, "The car accident my parents died in was not a typical one in any way, shape, or form. Our car rolled down a hill, rotating from wheels to roof 21 times before finally coming to a stop. The police said that it was a miracle I survived, but they didn't understand why my dad would miss the curve like that. I mean, it wasn't like it was hard to miss. They thought that maybe he was drunk or high, but the tox screens came back negative."

"What did happen?" Harvey inquired softly.

Looking away, Mike shrugged. "A car swerved into our lane, and my father had to swerve to avoid it," he stated in a small voice.

"What kind of car?" Harvey abruptly asked, his tone becoming serious.

Mike blinked several times before trying to think back. "Uh," he started to say, dragging out the word as he thought. "Black Mercedes-Benz… with four doors. I think it was a sedan." As Harvey grew silent, Mike became worried. "Why? What's wrong?" he pressed, concern evident in his voice.

"The car that swerved to hit you the other day," Harvey said, pausing as he looked Mike in the eyes, "was a 2005 black, four door Mercedes-Benz C240 – a sedan."

Without saying a word, Mike headed towards the living room. Harvey somehow beat him to the door, though, and blocked it. "What are you doing, Harvey?" Mike snapped. "Let me through. This isn't funny."

"This doesn't have anything to do with your parents' accident," Harvey stated firmly. "You're forgetting that they broke into _my_ office, Mike."

Mike shook his head. "But _I_ work for you," he stated. "Think about it, Harvey! I'm the only connection between everything going on right now. They're coming after _me_, not you. I need to see a picture of this car now. I have to know for sure."

"Mike," Harvey began to say.

"Harvey," Mike replied, cutting him off, "I have gone through my whole life wondering why my parents were killed in an accident. I wondered _why_ that car swerved into our lane, but those people did not come to help."

Quickly, Harvey responded, "Finding out that these people killed your parents will not bring them back."

Mike felt something inside him break as he heard that. "I know that, Harvey!" he exclaimed, tears coming to his eyes. "But if these people were the ones who killed them then that means their deaths aren't my fault."

"You shouldn't need a picture to tell you that," Harvey told him. Firmly, he grabbed Mike by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes. "The reason your parents died is because some idiot went over the line, and your father overreacted in order to not be any later to this dinner. Michael Ross, you did _not_ kill your parents."

Suddenly, Mike felt a previously unknown pressure leave his chest. He had needed to hear that all his life, and he knew that Harvey would never lie to him about something so important. With this pressure now gone, Mike felt his knees buckle as pure relief washed over him. Harvey caught him before he went crashing to the ground, but Mike wouldn't have cared either way. It wasn't his fault. It _wasn't_ his fault! Those words repeated themselves again and again in his mind. Trembling, Mike laughed and cried at the same time. His legs felt like jelly, and his mind felt like mush. Carefully, Harvey half-carried, half-dragged Mike to the bed and tossed him on. They curled up together underneath the blankets. And for the first time since Mike could remember, he truly slept.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: **I do sincerely apologize for not updating this story sooner. Unfortunately, college started for me, and I have found myself without any time to write anymore. I ask for everyone to please be patient, especially seeing as how the next chapter will be the last one. Please enjoy this chapter, and I'll try to update again soon!

* * *

><p>Mike was frantic. No, this was worse than just being frantic. This morning, Mike had woken up at 8:00, which was almost a whole hour after the firm opened, and realized that Harvey was nowhere to be found. His brain had turn to complete mush as his chaotic side took over. He completely skipped taking a shower and instead grabbed the closest suit and began changing into it. As soon as his pants were on, he was running to head out the door. He was halfway there when he heard his cell phone ring. Quickly, he grabbed the cell and glared at it as he read the last name he wanted to see that morning.<p>

"What the hell, Harvey?" Mike snapped into the phone as he tried to shrug on his jacket with one arm. "I know that you can be an asshole sometimes, but I can't believe you just left me here! Especially after all I went through last night."

"Cool it, kid," Harvey's smooth voice called out. "I tried to wake you up several times this morning, but you never stirred. For a moment, I thought you were dead. I almost called an ambulance before I realized you were actually breathing."

Mike didn't find this statement humorous at all. "How am I supposed to get to work, Harvey? You took my bike the moment I moved in here! And I doubt you would be so nice as to send Ray back for me, would you? That would damage your precious reputation."

Throwing open the door, Mike barreled out into the hall only to run directly into someone. He stumbled back, an apology dying on his lips as he saw Harvey standing in front of him. Instantly, Mike felt horrible as he reran the last couple of words he had just said in his head. Harvey had came all the way back to the condo. Mike struggled with his pride, knowing he needed to apologize.

Harvey smirked as he stepped forward and pressed his lips against Mike's. Mike couldn't fight it; he just let his anger go for a moment and lost himself. Slowly, Harvey pulled back, and Mike felt something tighten around his neck. Mike had been left breathless, and he looked down to see the tie he had just slung around his neck was tied. Confused for a second, Mike blinked a couple times before looking back up at Harvey.

"You looked like a little lost puppy," Harvey stated, his smirk widening. "No apology needed, by the way. The expression on your face more than made up for anything you said."

Mike flushed as he heard this and felt his heart pounding in his throat. God, why did Harvey always have such an effect on him? "What are you doing here?" he inquired, rubbing his lips with the back of his hand. They were still tingling. "Aren't you supposed to be at work or something?"

"I had Donna reschedule our morning meeting so you could be there to meet the client," Harvey stated matter-of-factly. "I came to get you myself to guarantee that you wouldn't be late to this one. C'mon, kid."

Slightly miffed, Mike buttoned up his jacket and retorted, "You know, I haven't been late to a meeting for over a couple months now."

"Yes," Harvey concurred. "I believe that was also around the time you moved into my condo. Could I be correct with that statement?"

"The only correlation between my tardiness and your condo has to do with the fact that I'm always looking for an excuse to escape," Mike responded swiftly. He couldn't help but smile as he heard this. Truth was that moving into Harvey's condo had been one of the best things to ever happen to him. Hitting the button for the elevator, he turned away so Harvey couldn't see his smile.

Chuckling softly, Harvey murmured, "Of course it was."

The elevator chimed, and the doors opened. Both stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed after Harvey hit the lobby button. Frowning, Mike inquired, "Why don't we ever use your private elevator? I mean, you had to have had that built for a reason, right? But I've never used it."

"It's made completely out of glass, Mike. If we used it, I wouldn't be able to do this," Harvey replied, swooping in and capturing Mike's lips again.

Mike sighed into the kiss, half curious as to why Harvey was so unrestrained today. It's not like he didn't appreciate it, but he wasn't quite sure what was going on either. Abruptly, two arms wrapped around his lower torso, and Mike felt his bottom lip be slightly nipped. Moaning, Mike wrapped his arms around Harvey's neck and greedily deepened the kiss. Suddenly and really all too soon, the elevator chimed again. As if nothing happened, Harvey ripped away and calmly walked out as soon as the doors opened. Mike, left breathless once more, staggered out after Harvey. How come Mike was the only one that ever seemed to affected by what they do?

"Ray!" Harvey called out as they stepped out of the building. By then, Mike had caught up and was able to pretend that nothing had happened. "We were lucky. He was awake when I got up there."

Smiling, Ray nodded. "Looks like we'll be running ahead of schedule then," he responded, opening Harvey's door. "That's a nice change of pace."

"I haven't been late for a while now!" Mike snapped, scowling at the both of them.

Neither male answered him. Instead, Harvey waited for Mike to slide into the car first as he had done every day since the near accident. As soon as Mike was situated, Harvey slid in and closed the car door. Harvey carelessly picked up some files and threw them into Mike's lap. "Read these before we get to the client's house. I don't want you screwing something up, you hear?" he snapped, glancing at Ray.

"Alright," Mike whispered, opening the files and quickly reading through them. It was nothing he hadn't read before, but Mike figured that Harvey wanted to make sure that everything was covered before they arrived. He scanned down one page after another carelessly. Honestly, he was only doing this to amuse Harvey. Suddenly, Mike noticed something was off about the paperwork. He felt somewhat sick as he read and reread it, and a little red flag went up in the back of his mind. "Hey, Harvey?" he called out, pulling up a page. "There must have been a typo or something. This address can't be right."

Clearly alarmed, Harvey snatched the paper up and looked at the address. "What could be wrong with this address?" he inquired. "Our client is in the real estate business, and this is one of his projects. He wants us to see it before he starts talking business."

"Before this, the paperwork gave a different address – actually, it was a PO Box. But this address cannot be the right one," he continued, tasting bile in the back of his throat. "The address on the paper now, though, is my old address. The address I used to live at before my parents died. My grandmother still owns the house, so there's no way that our client is renovating it."

Harvey didn't hesitate for a second. Leaning forward, he said, "Ray, turn around and get us back to Pearson Hardman as soon as possible."

Nodding, Ray changed lanes to turn around at the next light. Mike felt his heart pounding in his chest as he was trying to piece everything together. Why did these people constantly insist to terrorize him? They already proved they could get into Pearson Hardman whenever they pleased. They also proved they could access Mike wherever he was. Now they proved that they could bring Mike wherever they pleased whenever they wanted. This was just to make a point. They put that address down so he and Harvey would see it and understand what they were trying to convey. No matter where he was, Mike was never safe.

"Calm down," Harvey murmured, making sure Ray couldn't hear him. Mike jerked away for a second after being started. It was only then that he realized he was breathing pretty heavily. "I promised that you would be safe at the condo, and I've kept that promise. If you want to, you can just take the day off and stay at the condo until I get back."

Mike shook his head and tried to calm himself down. "I don't think it would be smart for me to be alone right now," he replied. "Being around a lot of people will make me feel safe even when I'm not."

"I won't let anything happen to you," Harvey stated confidently as the car began to pull into the intersection.

Just then, everything became a blur. Mike felt jerked around as their forward momentum turned into a sideways momentum. Seatbelt burning his skin, Mike heard the clicking of the seatbelt as he was launched back into his seat. Adrenaline rushed through his entire body as the sound of crunching metal resounded in his ears. Before he knew it, Mike felt a dull pain on the side of his head. Suddenly, the car came to a stop. It took Mike a moment to realize that they had been in an accident. Feeling nauseous, Mike turned to see that they had been T-boned on Harvey's side. Harvey had his eyes closed.

"Harvey?" Mike called out, reaching forward. He was stopped by the seatbelt, and he unsnapped it as soon as his brain triggered what he needed to do. Not thinking, he grabbed Harvey's arm and cried out, "Harvey!"

Harvey stirred slightly, forcing his eyes open. Relieved, Mike relaxed as he started to look around the car. The entire front, right side of the car had been taken out. He checked on Ray to find the driver knocked out, resting on the automatic airbag that had shot out of the steering wheel. Feeling sick, Mike forced himself to worry about Harvey first and foremost. Harvey was more important. If Ray was dead, there was nothing he could do about it. Looking back over, Mike lifted a shaking hand and gently touched Harvey's cheek.

"Where does it hurt?" Mike inquired.

Groaning, Harvey responded, "Everything aches."

"Anywhere in particular?" Mike continued, looking for any obvious injuries. It didn't appear that Harvey was bleeding externally, but Mike knew his boss would be badly bruised once they got out of the car. At least Harvey was okay, though. That was one thing that Mike made sure to focus on. At least he and Harvey were still alive.

Harvey looked over at him skeptically and asked, "Are you hitting on me?" A small chuckle could be heard in his voice, and Harvey forced a smile to his face.

"Harvey, let's be serious for a second-!" Mike began to yell when the door behind him was suddenly ripped open. Thinking someone was there to help them, he turned only to find himself face-to-face with the barrel of a gun. Instantly, his heart leapt to his throat and his mind became completely clear.

"Don't move, or I'll shoot him," a gravelly voice declared angrily.

Frozen in place, Mike wasn't sure who the person was talking to at first. When he was grabbed by the arms, though, he realized they had been talking to Harvey. Mike was dragged backwards out of the car. Struggling, Mike locked his eyes with Harvey's. "Harvey!" he screamed out as he dug his heels into the pavement. Panic was taking over his mind, and he finally realized that there were tears running down his cheeks. "Harvey!"

Just as he was dragged into the back of a van, Mike felt a pressure on the side of his neck. A moment later, his entire world turned black.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** Because so many people said that the torture scene was too short, I took the time today to lengthen it a bit. I didn't know how else to inform everyone, so I just reposted the chapter. I hope that this was, indeed, an improvement.

* * *

><p>Groaning, Mike slowly came to. His head was pounding something fierce, and it took him a moment before he remembered everything that happened. He blinked a few times and finally was able to focus. Looking around, Mike could only see complete darkness. He thought that maybe he was blindfolded, and he tried to reach up to check only to find that his hands were tied behind his back. Horrified, he realized that he had been tied down. Struggling, Mike tried to find any sort of slack in his bindings. Of course, there were none.<p>

"I think he's coming around," a voice said. The echo in the room was so loud that Mike couldn't tell where the person might be. As he heard the next sentence, Mike felt his heart get stuck in his throat. "Get the boss."

The sound of resonating footsteps assaulted Mike's ears. All he could really feel, though, was the adrenaline rushing through his system. Even after all this time, he didn't know who these people were or even what they wanted. And if they had something to do with his parents' death then there was no way in hell he could even guess what they had against him and his family. Suddenly, he thought of Harvey. Harvey wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. He would figure it out and come save Mike… right? Just as panic began to set in, Mike heard a door squeak open and footsteps echo all around him. Mike began breathing heavily as he tried to control himself. No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't figure out how close the person was.

Suddenly, he felt a breath behind his ear just before someone whispered, "Have you finally come to play?"

Mike bit back a scream as he tried to control his rapidly beating heart. "What do you want with me?" he yelled, trying to suffocate his fear with anger.

"I just wanted to play, but you always kept breaking the rules," the voice whispered in his ear again.

Without warning, Mike felt someone touch the back of his head. He let out a bellow, which echoed back loudly, and tried futilely to get away. Laughter rang out all around him just before a cloth fell away from his eyes. Squinting, Mike hissed in pain as the sudden change in light made his eyes burn and water. He blinked several times to find he was in a rundown warehouse. Turning, he looked back and felt his heart sink with horror and surprise. His kidnapper wasn't wearing a mask, meaning his chance for survival was slim. But he recognized this face.

"Rebecca?" he inquired, staring at the blonde in front of him.

She smiled sweetly and said, "So you do remember me from that one night. I'm flattered. Tell me, did you win the bet?"

"Yeah, I did," Mike answered, not really thinking everything through. "But I don't understand. I had never met you until that day. Why have you been harassing me this whole time?"

Her sweet smile turned into a sadistic one. "That's the sad part of this whole thing, Mike. You see, you didn't do anything to warrant this. It just so happens, though, that you're the only one I can use to get revenge," she stated, her voice turning dark.

"What are you talking about?" Mike responded, feeling somewhat sick as he heard this.

"I'm talking about Harvey Specter," she told him.

Confused, Mike pressed, "What does Harvey has to do with any of this?"

"He has everything to do with this," she responded, beginning to pace. "Let me tell you a little story about a man. This man was dealing with some company problems. You see, the company was committing some back-hand deals, and this man found out about it. And what did they do? They fired him, of course. So he decided to sue them, and he hoped that he'll be able to oust the skeletons in their closets in the process and take down the whole company. But then a lawyer named Harvey Specter stepped in on behalf of the company. Not only did he manage to silence this noble and honorable man, but he also had the nerve to send this man to prison!"

Taking in a deep breath, Mike said, "I'm sure that Harvey was just doing what was best for the company. If you let me talk to him, though-"

"No!" she screamed angrily, slamming her hands down onto his arms and sinking her nails into his skin. Wincing in pain, Mike pulled back as far as he could into his chair. "It's too late for something like that. My father died in that prison six months ago, never even having the hope to escape and live his actual life."

Mike swallowed hard and managed to say, "I'm sorry to hear about that." Her grip slightly tightened on his arm as she heard this, but she didn't say anything. Finally, Mike said, "But I still don't understand what this has to do with me."

"You don't? I see. Well, Harvey Specter took away the most important person in my life; isn't it only natural that I would want to take away the most important person in his?" she stated as if it were mere common sense. When Mike thought about it, though, it sort of was, as twisted as it might be.

"I think you're horribly mistaken," he said. "Harvey doesn't care about anyone but himself."

Smiling, Rebecca nodded her head briefly. "That's what I thought as well. But as I started doing research, I began to realize that Harvey Specter actually has three weaknesses. All I had to do was figure out which one he cared about the most. Unfortunately for you, you actually turned out to be his greatest weakness."

Confused, Mike shook his head in disbelief. "Harvey Specter doesn't _have_ any weaknesses. There's no way!"

"Au contraire. As I just said, he has three of them: his boss, his secretary, and his associate," she explained. "But he took a particular liking to you, Michael Ross, for reasons that I don't understand. You're not particularly good looking, after all, and are a bit too boyish looking for most women's tastes." Mike didn't even feel like arguing with her at that point, but he knew at least two gorgeous women who thought his "boyish" looks were attractive. "But Harvey Specter took an interest in you; that much became clear after I had my cousins break into his office to see if they could find anything of importance. He went with you to the police station, watched over you the whole time, and even took you into his condo. That is why you're the focus of my efforts. I want Harvey Specter to understand the pain I felt the day my father died. Since killing his father wouldn't have the same effect, I guessed that a lover wouldn't be too far off from the experience."

Mike tried to control the panic seeping into every crevice of his mind. "Why prolong it, though? Why psychologically torture me for months before this?" he replied desperately. "Why not just kill me from day one?"

"Do you think my father didn't suffer _every single day_ he was in prison?" she snarled, her grip tightening fiercely on his arms. He winced in pain as her nails broke his skin. "He went through Hell and back in there. You merely got a taste of the horror and pain my father experienced. If you only knew… if you only knew, you wouldn't ask. You would be grateful that I didn't do more."

Suddenly, a thought struck Mike's mind. "And the car?" he inquired, turning desperate. At her age, she couldn't have had anything to do with his parents' accident, but he had to double check.

"What car?" she inquired, clearly taken by surprise.

Mike clarified, "The car you used to try to hit me. It was the same make and model as the car that ran my family off the road. How did you know?"

"According to one of the police reports, which are way too easy to get access to, an eyewitness saw that exact car driving down the road just before finding your crashed car," Rebecca stated. "I figured that that would pull up the worst memories for you. Was I right?" Stubborn, Mike refused to answer. He merely scowled and allowed his anger to grow. Better to be angry than to be scared in his opinion. "I'll take that as a confirmation," she sneered.

Glaring at the wall, Mike bitterly asked, "So now what?"

"Well, now I'll kill you," she stated simply.

Shaking, Mike refused to whimper and cry despite the fact that that's all he wanted to do. Since his near death experience, he had never really been scared of death. He understood it was a part of living. The ending part, of course, but a part nonetheless. But he had never really had anything to lose before, so there had been no real reason to fear it. Now, though, he was going to be leaving Harvey behind. Harvey… and Donna… and Rachel… and Jessica Pearson… and Jenny… and his grandmother. He didn't _want_ to die anymore, and he sure as hell didn't want to be killed by anyone.

Mike swallowed the bile in his throat before croaking out, "Do I get a say in how you kill me?"

"I guess such an occurrence would be involuntary by the time your death comes around," Rebecca stated with a twisted smile on her face. "But if you think I'm just going to kill you without enjoying myself first then you're completely wrong." Terrified, Mike watched as she left his eyesight by going behind him. A couple seconds later, he felt something cold press against the front of his neck. Suddenly, he heard a click and felt two prongs pressing into his throat. "Your screams are going to be the most wonderful sounds I'll ever hear. Besides, of course, Harvey's sobs and angry yells when he finds your dead body in his chair tomorrow at Pearson Hardman. I'll make sure to somehow be there to see it."

Feeling sick, Mike watched as she came back around to face him. "You're wearing a bark collar right now. It was created for large dogs, like Saint Bernards, and is on its highest setting. In essence, every time you scream, it'll electrocute you." He instantly became determined to not scream. Abruptly, she disappeared behind him. He heard something, and she reappeared with brass knuckles. Mentally, Mike groaned. "I've been training every day for this, you know," she informed him nonchalantly. "I even went as far as to learn where your vital spots are in order to avoid them." She smiled as she nailed him in the gut. Mike grunted under his breath and mentally cursed the fact that he was tied to the chair. Since he was unable to move with the punch, he got the full impact of it. He was left breathless and gasping. Before he knew it, he saw a flash of white and felt a sear of pain on the side of his face. Suddenly, he tasted something metallic in his mouth, and it took him a moment to realize that it was blood. Just as he head this realization, he felt another blow to his chest. He coughed and spat his blood in her face. Glowering, Rebecca wiped the blood off her face.

"Still a bit of a spitfire, are we?" she inquired rhetorically. "I think I have a solution for that." Once more, she disappeared from his view. Mike tried to catch his breath when she appeared again. This time, though, there was a knife in her hand. Mike filled with dread as his mind processed everything. Slowly, she cut away his two sleeves to reveal his thin arms. She smiled and placed the tip of the knife to his skin. Abruptly, Mike felt a sharp pain sear through his arm. Biting his bottom lip, he barely kept himself from screaming in pain at first. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he thought he was going to pass out. It became too much for him, though, and he let out a pained scream. A sharp spike of pain assaulted his throat, but Mike couldn't stop himself from screaming. Just before he blacked out, though, the pain stopped. Mike looked down at his arm to find it had been carved into.

_Revenge is sweet._

Out of nowhere, Mike felt his stomach churn. He involuntarily lurched forward only for the ropes to stop him. Luckily, he managed to turn his head and got sick to the side of him. The stench filled his nose in an instant, and the only word he could use to describe it was fear. It was nauseating, and the smell made his stomach churn again. Gagging, Mike wasn't sure whether he should be relieved nothing come out or not. He spat out the last of the bile.

"So soon?" Rebecca asked, clearly amused. "I thought you would last at least until the second carving. I have to make sure this stuff stays, after all."

She then descended upon his arm again. This time, Mike didn't have the chance to brace himself against the pain. He instantly screamed out, his screams echoing back at him and the sharp bite of electrocution being his only companion. This appeared only to encourage Rebecca, because he felt the knife bite deeper into his skin. Struggling now, Mike tried to jerk himself away and felt helpless as the ropes didn't let up. She pulled back after what felt like an eternity. Gasping, Mike shuddered as he watched the blood drip down his arm, and he realized that she had carved the words deeper into his skin. It was probably to ensure that it wouldn't be patched up before anyone saw his corpse. She walked behind him and appeared with a wet towel. By no means did she gently wipe away the blood, but she helped with the clotting. Mike's arm was aching by the end, but at least it wasn't as bad the original pain.

"Aren't you worry of being caught?" Mike asked before spitting out some more bile. A sharp shock let him know just how sensitive the bark collar was.

Shrugging, Rebecca replied, "I'll worry about that once it happens. As for now, though, I'm going to enjoy this."

"Can't you mutilate me after you kill me?" Mike inquired, only half-joking. He didn't grimace this time when the electric collar activated once more. He refused to be quieted because of this pain.

Rebecca solemnly shook her head. "Forensics is a tricky thing nowadays. Did you know that they can tell what wounds were inflicted premortem and postmortem? No, I need for Harvey to know that you suffered every final second of your life. That you suffered, and he was completely helpless to save you." Slowly circling the chair, Rebecca stopped and looked down at Mike's arm. She wiped the knife clean and looked down at the arm in contemplation. "It's like a blank canvas. I just don't know what I should write. Or maybe I should try to draw something. But what? I've fantasized about this moment so many times. So many options. But which one would get Harvey's blood hotter? Which one would provoke him the best?"

Shrugging, Mike laughed, "You should sign it. Knowing who did this would probably provoke him the most." A sharp shock kept him from saying anything more.

Honestly, he wasn't sure why he was making light of the situation or even why he was helping her. He guessed that his hopelessness was just too strong, and he was beginning to emotionally shutdown. Slowly, he was accepting his imminent death. After all, how could Harvey figure out in a couple hours what the police couldn't figure out in a couple of months? Mike wasn't immortal. He just hoped that death wouldn't be so painful.

"Interesting," Rebecca murmured, gazing fondly at the arm. "Very interesting. Or maybe a hint. Something only Harvey Specter would figure out. He would be too proud to tell the police. No, he would come after me himself. Now _that_ I would enjoy immensely."

The knife glinted as she lowered it to his arm. Mike held his breath as the tip just barely touched his skin. Just as she was about to carve again, though, a loud _boom_ roared through the space, almost deafening Mike. Right after, incomprehensible commands and yells resounded through the air. Startled, Rebecca dropped the knife and turned around. Mike felt his heart leap as he realized it was the police. Detective Erbe and D'Onofrio were leading the squad. As soon as Rebecca was being handcuffed, Detective Erbe began untying Mike. His wrists were red from rope burn, and Mike wasn't sure exactly what was still wrong with him from the car crash. But he didn't care. He had to get to Harvey.

"Mr. Ross, you need to stay here. An ambulance is on the way, and we're going to have to take your statement after you've been released," Detective Erbe gently said. "Please sit back down."

Mike wasn't listening to her, though. He was planning on how to get away. How to get back to Harvey. Where would Harvey even be? "I need to get out here. I need some fresh air," he stated. "By the way, could you call Harvey and tell him I'm alright?"

"Of course," she murmured, nodding. "Do you know his work extension? I don't want anymore information than necessary leaking out."

Now knowing where Harvey was, Mike gave her the extension numbers. He didn't say another word, merely headed towards the entrance. An officer followed Mike outside, and Mike knew he was going to have to think fast. Once the ambulance got there, there would be way for him to see Harvey until the police were done with him. Previous experience told Mike that that could be any time within the next 48 hours.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Mike murmured, looking at the policeman with a pained expression. "I'm going to just step around the corner, alright? I don't want anyone to see me like this."

The officer nodded. Heart racing, Mike turned the corner and made a break for it. It was at this point that he finally realized his left eye was swollen from the hit. It was difficult to see everything in front of him; however, that didn't slow him down at all. Although his arm had started bleeding again and every step was harder to make than the last, Mike finally found a main road. He hailed a taxi the moment he could and gave the address for Pearson Hardman. Although the driver gave him a strange look, he didn't question Mike at all. Mike checked the time to see that they wouldn't hit any rush hour traffic. At least that much was going for him.

It felt like eternity once more, and Mike marveled at how long this day seemed to have been. Of course, was it even the same day? He asked the driver for the date and was surprised to discover that it had just over a day had passed since the car accident. As soon as they stopped in front of Pearson Hardman, Mike grabbed his wallet, secretly relieved it was still there, and paid more than enough money for the ride and leapt out of the vehicle. He brushed through security and took the stairs barely managed to jump inside an elevator that was just about to close.

"Oh, my God," someone whispered.

Mike knew he probably looked like Hell on Earth, but he didn't care. He wanted to see Harvey. No, he _needed _to see Harvey. The doors opened to the Pearson Hardman offices floor, and Mike leapt out as soon as he could. Staggering forward, he rushed through the associate cubicles despite the fact that several people called out to him. Once Harvey's office was in sight, Mike doubled his efforts to get there faster. Donna leapt up from her desk as she screamed out, "Harvey, Mike's here! He's alive!"

Harvey rushed out of the office. Jessica Pearson and Louis were on his heels, but Harvey left them behind as he covered the distance between the two of them. Trembling, Mike fought letting his emotions get the better of him. He wasn't about to break down in front of everyone. And he sure as hell couldn't do anything to ruin Harvey's reputation. Breathing heavily, he looked up pathetically at Harvey. Suddenly, Harvey swooped down and planted a firm kiss on Mike's lips. It was hungry, and exactly what Mike needed at that moment. Gasps sounded out all around them, and Mike himself felt taken aback by the sudden affection.

"I thought you were dead," Harvey whispered as soon as he pulled back.

Mike couldn't stop himself any longer. Silently, tears streamed down his cheeks, and he felt his knees suddenly buckle. He fell against Harvey and felt himself wrapped into a protective hug. Now, he was safe. Now, no one would or even could hurt him.

"I thought I was, too," he sobbed out, barely keeping his voice quiet. "I thought she was going to kill me. I thought that no one would come in time."

Arms tightening around him, Mike felt Harvey tense up as he heard this. "There was no way I was going to allow you to die, Mike. Don't you remember? I promised to protect you," Harvey reminded him. "So calm down. You're safe now."

Mike nodded and tried to breathe deeply. For a moment, he just lost himself in the moment. He had survived. He was going to see tomorrow. Hell, he was going to see the next month. Suddenly, Mike was ripped back to the present by Donna's voice. "Mike, you're bleeding!" she exclaimed.

Just as abruptly, Harvey grabbed Mike by the shoulders and pushed him back. It was only then that Mike felt the ache in his arm once again. Harvey instantly locked onto it, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. For the first time since Mike had gotten back, Jessica spoke up, "Call for an ambulance, Donna."

"No," Harvey stated. "I'll take him myself. It'll be faster."

Jessica gave Harvey a sharp look. Mike grimaced, knowing Jessica hated to be retorted to. However, it was Louis who made the next comment. "How? Your driver isn't-" he started to sneer.

"He's waiting outside, just as I ordered him to do," Harvey stated. "I wanted to be able to leave the moment I heard anything about Mike."

Nodding, Jessica motioned for them to leave. Mike leaned heavily on Harvey as they started heading back out. Just as the elevator doors opened, Detective D'Onofrio and Erbe stepped out. Both look slightly miffed but relieved to see the two of them.

"I figured you would be here," Detective Erbe said, smiling a bit as she glanced at Harvey. "You were very clever. You got me to tell you where he was as well as ditched a police officer."

Smiling weakly, Mike said, "It takes a lot more than that to keep me from what I want."

"Very well. The ambulance is waiting for you downstairs. Of course, you may come with, Mr. Specter," Detective D'Onofrio stated.

Harvey looked at him condescendingly. "I wasn't even planning on asking if I was allowed to," he responded matter-of-factly. "And don't even think you'll be keeping him for the whole night. As soon as his statement is finished and signed, he's coming home with me."

Mike smiled at that. He was going to go _home_ at the end of the day no matter what. To a _real_ home with someone who loved him and whom he loved. How he had never realized it before was questionable, but Mike finally realized something – something important. His home was now with Harvey. And nothing and no one would ever be able to change that. He finally had a home.


End file.
